Guyanese entrepreneurs urged to invest in oil and gas sector

Chairman of Guyana’s Private Sector Commission, Edward Boyer, urged members of the business community to invest more in the preparation for the start-up of the oil and gas industry in that country. Boyer was speaking at the opening of a oil and gas seminar earlier this week.

Invest with caution

He however cautioned potential investors to do so with caution, to exercise due diligence and assess the investment risks. He also said the private sector must be aware of foreign competition make efforts to build capacity and prepare for the oil and gas industry which will officially come on stream in 2020. “There will be competition from our neighbors, who are oil and gas producers and we are aware of this competition at our doorsteps. However, I am sure that given the expertise and knowledge available to us we will enjoy the fruits of the new world open to us.”

He said the PSC intends to honor its duty to ensure that its members are aware of these opportunities, noting that the oil and gas industry would require a retooling of energies as the local private sector seek to make as much use of the local content policy as possible.

Work hand in hand with government

According to Boyer, the private sector cannot work on its own.

“We need to work hand in hand with Government to ensure that opportunities for fair competition are made possible. We need to learn about this industry as much as we can, in the little time that we have, to keep our engine of growth purring.”

Guyana gained world attention in May last year, when US based oil giant, ExxonMobil announced the discovery of more than 90 meters of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs about 120 miles off its coastline. The Liza-1 well was drilled to 5,433 meters in 1,742 meters of water, and is the first well on the Stabroek block.

Last month ExxonMobil said that the latest oil discovery  – made at the start of the year, will help bring production to more than 500,000 barrels per day.