GEORGETOWN, Guyana— Since coming into operation in January, Guyana’s local content regulator has issued some 354 Local Content Certificates to Guyanese suppliers in the oil and gas sector, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.
A Guyanese national or company issued a certificate by the Local Content Secretariat gets preferential treatment in the award of contracts by the oil companies and their sub-contractors. Oil companies and their sub-contractors are more incentivized to utilize vendors that the Secretariat approves.
A statement issued by the Secretariat on Tuesday said that internal assessments show that Guyanese companies supply goods and services across 37 of the 40 areas ringfenced for nationals in the First Schedule of the Local Content Act.
Director of the Secretariat Martin Pertab said the unit continues to work alongside and engage with contractors, sub-contractors, licensees, and Guyanese suppliers to ensure that the Act’s goals are met.
Local content, he underscored, gives Guyanese businesses a fair opportunity to directly tap into and benefit from Guyana’s multi-billion-dollar petroleum sector.
Although still being completed, the director noted that preliminary assessments show that local content earnings from this year alone are well above GY$129 billion. This represents 23 percent of Guyana’s GY$552.9 billion budget for 2022 – the nation’s largest ever recorded budget.
“The Local Content Secretariat, and by extension the Ministry of Natural Resources, will continue to engage with all stakeholders in ensuring that the objectives of the Local Content Act are attained as we seek to create a prosperous Guyana for all,” the statement from the Secretariat concluded.
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