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Georgetown – During a briefing on Monday at the residence of UK High Commissioner to Guyana Greg Quinn, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GGCI) Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer announced that representatives of 15 Guyanese companies will be participating in an oil and gas conference and exhibition in Aberdeen, Scotland, next month.
The GGCI President said the delegation currently comprises about 20 confirmed delegates who will be attending the Society of Petroleum Engineer’s biennial Offshore Europe Conference and Exhibition from September 3rd to September 6th.
He said the Chamber is hoping that the 15 companies that will be represented will benefit from the mission as it relates to education and networking opportunities. It is also important for local companies to present a “face” to foreign companies, he noted, since they often try to do research about Guyana and do not have the information readily available or “searchable” online, which may discourage their interest.
“It makes the GCCI useful because we can then provide that information. I’m sure the British High Commission does that for UK companies, but for networking, when you get that face-to-face interaction, those company representatives can now directly ask you questions and you get all sorts of questions on the size of the market, the complexity and regulations involved. So that networking is important,” Deygoo-Boyer said.
He also pointed out that the trade mission will provide an opportunity for local companies to pitch their products and services, thereby making foreign companies aware that they are ready to serve the industry.
“So networking offers two parts – fielding information about the general market and fielding information about specific companies’ abilities. That allows companies who are looking at making a Foreign Direct Investment [FDI] to feel a little more comfortable and do their due diligence easier,” he noted.
“…Over the past week, we have had the good news that Tullow, a UK-based company, through its partnership with ECO (Atlantic) had made [an oil] discovery. The thing is that it is positive news that Guyana’s relationship with the UK, from an oil industry perspective, will be strengthened and from the private sector that is not directly an oil company we want to be ready to be able to provide services and understand the network of service providers in the UK, using these types of exhibitions and for that it is an important step for us to participate,” Deygoo-Boyer added.
Last November, the GCCI fielded a mission to Aberdeen. It included representatives from the private and public sectors and, according to Deygoo-Boyer, relationships were built around education and trading skills development.
He further noted that the upcoming event is the largest offshore oil industry exhibition of its kind and the Chamber wanted to take advantage of it this year, given that it would have to wait another two years until the next one is held. This year’s event promises to be larger than those held in previous years.
Working along with the British High Commission in Guyana, the Guyana High Commission in the United Kingdom, and Valiant Media, Deygoo-Boyer said, the GCCI came up with a way to have Guyana represented. He noted that it is a logistical challenge to fly to the United Kingdom and he lauded the local companies for still showing interest despite the cost, which he hoped will be reduced in future.
In addition to attending the exhibition, the GGCI will also be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce. He was not keen on revealing the details of the MoU until it is signed next month.
Also speaking at the press conference, Quinn said that the latest development is a product of the relationship that has been built between Aberdeen and Guyana over the last 12 to 18 months following last year’s trade mission and visit by the Energy Industry Council, a trade association, to Guyana in January.
“We are now going over to offshore Europe and we have further visits from the Energy Council next year. Valiant Media have got a Guyana pavilion that will be set up and there are a variety of other activities which are Guyana specific,” he said, while noting that there are a lot of opportunities for local companies to “link up and hook up” with companies in the United Kingdom and that there is an expectation that the upcoming mission will help take the relationship to “another level.”
Quinn emphasised that by making the effort last November and having companies with their representatives present to explain what things are in the country has “very significantly” increased interest in companies here. He said he now talks to at least two companies per day interested in coming to Guyana, compared with one per week four years ago.

August 21, 2019 issue
Headline News
First diaspora ‘oil & gas’ town hall

From left: Michael Cousins, Ashlika Persaud and Roy Doobay.
By Harry Hergash Exxon, the American multinational oil and gas company that discovered vast reserves of oil off the coast of Guyana in 2015, held its first town hall meeting for Guyanese and others in the diaspora on Sunday, August 18, 2019 at the LeParc Banquet Hall, Thornhill Ontario. The event, under the theme “Guyana’s Oil and Gas Development” was sponsored by the Canadian Council for the Americas (CCA) and attracted an audience of around 400 individuals who listened to presentations by officials of Exxon and then participated in a Q&A session. Michael Cousins, Senior Vice President of Exploration and New Ventures at ExxonMobil Upstream Business Development Company, after giving a brief history of unproductive oil explorations in Guyana going as far back as 1941, noted that success was finally achieved in 2015 with Exxon’s phase 1 drilling which discovered a reservoir of around six billion barrels. This, he said, is more successful than in Trinidad where 1600 wells were drilled for a find of 2.5 billion barrels. The Exxon VP outlined benefits Guyana is receiving as a major oil producer working with the company. He stated Exxon has been supporting Guyanese workforce development, providing training to local businesses participating in the industry, buying from local suppliers, making a $10M (US) grant over five years for heritage preservation, donating $650,000 (US) to help Iwokrama in its rainforest conservation work, helping in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) project in secondary schools, and committing to refurbish the science laboratories at the University of Guyana. And at the more macro level, he asserted that Guyana will have “a louder voice on the world stage”. Another presenter, Guyanese Ms Ashlika Persaud, a geoscientist at ExxonMobil working on the project, gave an overview of the technical aspect of the work involved in the discovery, the challenges faced, and the excitement of finding oil. In the Q&A session a major concern raised was whether Guyana’s oil industry will follow the path of Kuwait for prosperity, or will become another Venezuela whose economy is in ruin. In responding it was pointed out that it is a matter for the Guyanese authorities to decide how the oil wealth is used but that Exxon is encouraging prudence and has directed the Guyanese authorities to relevant international bodies for assistance in safeguarding and managing its oil wealth. Questions were asked about Exxon’s plans to deal with potential oil spills and of insurance coverage in any such eventuality considering the impact of major oil spills on the fishing industry of Guyana and the tourism industry of Caribbean countries where “sun and sand (beaches)” are the major attractions for tourists. Responding, emphasis was placed on the company’s reliance on technology and best practices to prevent such spills. Details on plans for spills were vague at best and no answer was offered on insurance coverage. It was explained that the entire project will last for many decades but the first phase has a lifespan of around 20 years and production is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2020. Over the life of the project, Guyana’s share of revenue is expected to be around US $117.5 billion. In the first four years Exxon will recover the US $4.5 billion of its capital investment. Guyana will earn royalty at the rate of 2% of revenues during the cost recovery phase. “In addition to royalties, there will be profit oil and revenues to the Government from day one because cost recovery is capped at 75% per year.” Regarding the signing bonus of US $18M which has been the subject of much criticism in and outside of Guyana, Exxon’s VP Cousins stated that the “sanctity of the contract” must be observed and renegotiation is not an option. The event commenced with a brief welcome by Kenneth Frankel, President of the CCA. Ms Anyin Chu, Consul General of the Guyana Consulate in Toronto expressed gratitude to the host for sponsoring the event and thanked the attendees for their presence. Closing remarks were made by Roy Doobay, a Canadian Guyanese attached to ExxonMobil who thanked the sponsors and exhorted Guyanese to stay engaged in the opportunity to transform the country for the benefit of all.

Guyanese to participate in oil and gas conference & exhibition in Scotland
Georgetown – During a briefing on Monday at the residence of UK High Commissioner to Guyana Greg Quinn, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GGCI) Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer announced that representatives of 15 Guyanese companies will be participating in an oil and gas conference and exhibition in Aberdeen, Scotland, next month. The GGCI President said the delegation currently comprises about 20 confirmed delegates who will be attending the Society of Petroleum Engineer’s biennial Offshore Europe Conference and Exhibition from September 3rd to September 6th. He said the Chamber is hoping that the 15 companies that will be represented will benefit from the mission as it relates to education and networking opportunities. It is also important for local companies to present a “face” to foreign companies, he noted, since they often try to do research about Guyana and do not have the information readily available or “searchable” online, which may discourage their interest. “It makes the GCCI useful because we can then provide that information. I’m sure the British High Commission does that for UK companies, but for networking, when you get that face-to-face interaction, those company representatives can now directly ask you questions and you get all sorts of questions on the size of the market, the complexity and regulations involved. So that networking is important,” Deygoo-Boyer said. He also pointed out that the trade mission will provide an opportunity for local companies to pitch their products and services, thereby making foreign companies aware that they are ready to serve the industry. “So networking offers two parts – fielding information about the general market and fielding information about specific companies’ abilities. That allows companies who are looking at making a Foreign Direct Investment [FDI] to feel a little more comfortable and do their due diligence easier,” he noted. “…Over the past week, we have had the good news that Tullow, a UK-based company, through its partnership with ECO (Atlantic) had made [an oil] discovery. The thing is that it is positive news that Guyana’s relationship with the UK, from an oil industry perspective, will be strengthened and from the private sector that is not directly an oil company we want to be ready to be able to provide services and understand the network of service providers in the UK, using these types of exhibitions and for that it is an important step for us to participate,” Deygoo-Boyer added. Last November, the GCCI fielded a mission to Aberdeen. It included representatives from the private and public sectors and, according to Deygoo-Boyer, relationships were built around education and trading skills development. He further noted that the upcoming event is the largest offshore oil industry exhibition of its kind and the Chamber wanted to take advantage of it this year, given that it would have to wait another two years until the next one is held. This year’s event promises to be larger than those held in previous years. Working along with the British High Commission in Guyana, the Guyana High Commission in the United Kingdom, and Valiant Media, Deygoo-Boyer said, the GCCI came up with a way to have Guyana represented. He noted that it is a logistical challenge to fly to the United Kingdom and he lauded the local companies for still showing interest despite the cost, which he hoped will be reduced in future. In addition to attending the exhibition, the GGCI will also be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce. He was not keen on revealing the details of the MoU until it is signed next month. Also speaking at the press conference, Quinn said that the latest development is a product of the relationship that has been built between Aberdeen and Guyana over the last 12 to 18 months following last year’s trade mission and visit by the Energy Industry Council, a trade association, to Guyana in January. “We are now going over to offshore Europe and we have further visits from the Energy Council next year. Valiant Media have got a Guyana pavilion that will be set up and there are a variety of other activities which are Guyana specific,” he said, while noting that there are a lot of opportunities for local companies to “link up and hook up” with companies in the United Kingdom and that there is an expectation that the upcoming mission will help take the relationship to “another level.” Quinn emphasised that by making the effort last November and having companies with their representatives present to explain what things are in the country has “very significantly” increased interest in companies here. He said he now talks to at least two companies per day interested in coming to Guyana, compared with one per week four years ago.




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