The Guyana Shore Base Inc. (GYSBI) has signed an 11-year extension contract with Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), an ExxonMobil affiliate for the provision of shore base management and operations services.
The contract builds on the previous agreement, which was awarded to the company in 2017 with, GYSBI, a pioneering local company in the local oil and gas sector, indicating that it has directly invested over US$300 million in enabling port infrastructure, real estate development, warehousing, and support services.
It said also it has recruited, trained, and certified more than 1,000 Guyanese for key operational positions within the industry and beyond through its affiliates and catalyzed more than US$500 million in investment in the Houston / McDoom, East Bank Demerara corridor by providing the enabling infrastructure and establishing the first oil and gas activity hub in Guyana.
Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat in welcoming the signing, said GYSBI has become a prime example of what is possible for Guyanese businesses in the country’s relatively new oil and gas sector.
“Let me congratulate and commend GYSBI and ExxonMobil Guyana…We are happy to be here to see this signing… and seeing another Guyanese company taking a big stride in the oil and gas sector and putting Guyana on the map.
Bharrat said with a projection of nearly 11 billion barrels of recoverable resources and further drilling activities taking place, the government is optimistic that more discoveries would be recorded and therefore, more Guyanese companies would be called upon to meet the myriad services that will be required.
“As a government, we are not afraid to take bold steps. Some people may say that we are moving too fast and indeed we are moving fast. I don’t think we have seen this pace of developing an oil and gas sector in any country, especially a third world country like Guyana.
“The Local Content Act was enacted to ensure that Guyanese benefit from the oil and gas sector, which they truly deserve. Guyanese must benefit and as a government we are entrusted to do with, in partnership with our foreign partners. We see you as valuable partners and we are committed to working with you to ensure we develop these resources in a way that benefits both the people of Guyana and the company,” he added.
GYSBI executive director, Robin Muneshwer, said the contract extension builds on five years of significant and continuous investment, hard work, training, and development of local capacity to create a world-class facility that meets the specialized needs of the oil and gas industry.
“The first five years that we are about to complete in August were quite challenging, but ExxonMobil was a true partner in all of this. They worked with us as we developed because we were starting from scratch in a country that had no oil and gas experience or infrastructure.
ExxonMobil Guyana’s Logistics manager, Hayley Gilbert, said Guyana Shore Base Inc continues to offer comprehensive services that are crucial to the company’s day-to-day operations and has progressively matched its growth and need for additional space with a move over to its 70-plus acres Industrial Estate and the commissioning of two heavy lift berths later this year.
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