By Mikaila Prince
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, (DPI) – The Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber said the recently concluded International Energy Conference and Expo, held at the Marriott in Georgetown, was a major success and organisers and stakeholders must be commended.
The energy chamber said following the conference, that “the real work has now begun, for more reasons than one.”
“To this end, the mere fact that the event attracted the attendance of so many high-profile dignitaries as previously stated, this is a demonstration of the regional and global importance of Guyana on several fronts, especially in the areas of international trade and investment opportunities for both local, regional and foreign investors from across the globe,” the chamber wrote in a statement Saturday.
For the first time in history, Guyana hosted a number of high-profile dignitaries in one event aimed at achieving a common goal and a win-win for all stakeholders involved, dignitaries included president of Ghana, Nana Addo Dawnka Akufo-Addo; Suriname’s president, Chandrikapersad Santhoki and prime minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, along with chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil, Darren Woods and the chief executive officer of Hess Corporation, John Hess.
The event was also well-attended by local businesses, regional and international firms. It served as a platform for the formation of new partnerships among local and foreign companies to form synergies, sharing of resources and capabilities, improve competitiveness and build capacity to meet the growing demand for goods and services in the sector.
The chamber pointed out that more partnerships with local companies ultimately mean more jobs will be created for the local workforce. This also means that there will be greater competition for a skilled labour force, which is likely to incentivise persons to get themselves suitably qualified to enhance their own competitiveness in the job market.
“GOGEC wishes to congratulate ExxonMobil’s chairman and chief executive officer, Darren Woods, who attended Guyana’s inaugural energy conference earlier this week, for his company’s sterling contributions to Guyana’s development and the company’s role in Guyana’s economic transformation and development trajectory.
More importantly, GOGEC supports the accelerated production in Guyana where the chairman stated that by 2027 the company anticipates the company producing from six projects and another four by the end of the decade, thereby increasing daily production to in excess of one million barrels per day,” the statement said.
GOGEC is also happy to hear of ExxonMobil’s renewed commitment to further advancing local content in Guyana.
In view of these revelations by the oil major’s chairman and chief executive officer, GOGEC highlight the importance of Guyanese businesses and individuals needing to take action now to quickly ready themselves to exploit the opportunities that will be driven by the oil and gas sector. Guyana, the chamber relayed, is on a path of rapid expansion and development where there will be a plethora of opportunities for all stakeholders and ultimately improve the quality of life and standard of living of our people. Guyana is well-positioned to move from a lower-middle-income country to a high-income country.
