GEORGETOWN, Guyana, (DPI) – The Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo set for February 19 to 22, 2024, has attracted participation from more than 21 countries, with close to 200 exhibitors, and 30 sponsors this year.
This update was provided by the Expo’s chief executive officer, Kurt Baboolall during a media conference, at the Guyana Marriott Hotel, Kingston, Georgetown, on Monday.
Meanwhile, minister of natural resources, Vickram Bharrat noted that the conference is becoming one of the premier energy sessions in the world and will showcase multiple sectors in the country’s economy, creating opportunities and benefits for everyone involved.
“This conference is important for our local private sector to network, to engage, [and] to build partnerships with international companies because that is something that as a government we advocated for from the inception. Since we took office in August of 2020, we have always said that we need to bring more opportunities to Guyanese and Guyanese businesses,” he stated.
He noted that Guyana is one of two countries that are currently considered hotspots in the energy sector. However, Guyana is far more advanced in the development of the sector, compared to Namibia, which is the other hotspot country.
“By the time of the conference on the 19 February we will be producing comfortably at 600,000 barrels a day on average. At the last energy conference, we were about 380,000 to 390,000 barrels per day, so a lot has happened from the last conference to this one,” he told the media, and observed that an uptick in production signifies opportunities for the private sector to provide goods and services.
“Having the traditional productive sectors being incentivised, and the government continues to showcase and bring investment into those sectors it is critical to balancing our economy and we have done that exceedingly well over the last three years,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the conference will see the participation of prime ministers of Qatar, Trinidad and Tobago, and The Bahamas, as well as the head of state of Suriname, and the Dominican Republic at the opening ceremony.
President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali as well as several ministers from various countries will also be in attendance. The theme for this year’s expo is “Fueling Transformation and Modernisation.’ Registration is still open and several booths can still be secured for persons interested in participating.
