Oil giant ExxonMobil has made notable strides in its local content commitments to Guyana, including the expenditure of over US$280 million on local suppliers in the first half of the year, and in its employment of over 1,300 Guyanese women.
Last week, ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge held a press briefing in which he updated the media on the company’s achievements for the first half of the year, in addition to its strategic investments.
According to information supplied by Exxon, in excess of US$280 million was spent on Guyanese suppliers in the first half of the year, marking a 45 per cent increase in purchases from local suppliers compared to the same period last year. And it also adds to the more than US$1.2 billion spent with Guyanese suppliers since 2015.
“ExxonMobil Guyana and its contractors utilise a diverse supplier base of Guyanese businesses for a range of services, including structural fabrication, accounting, legal, marketing, catering, facilities management, recruitment, medical, security, logistics, and transportation,” the company said.
It was, meanwhile, explained that approximately 5,900 Guyanese workers “supported the activities of ExxonMobil Guyana” and its reporting contractors at the end of the first half of the year. Further, Guyanese represent 69 per cent of this overall workforce.
“More than 3500 workers are based offshore Guyana, including 1,700 Guyanese workers. More than 1,400 women workers support onshore and offshore oil and gas activities; 1,300 are Guyanese women,” the company further explained.
When it comes to Exxon’s strategic investments, the company said it plans to invest over US$40 billion in the coming years in five development projects. The company noted that this figure is over 10 times Guyana’s current budget, and is being done at zero cost to the country.
“In the first half of 2023, ExxonMobil Guyana’s strategic community investments included the Guyana Amazon Warriors sponsorship, University of Guyana partnership, Petra Youth Football Championships, and WE LIFT.
“Through the Greater Guyana Initiative (GGI), ExxonMobil Guyana and the Stabroek block co-venturers also supported the Centre for Local Business Development (CLBD), including its ElevateALL initiative, training with TVET institutions, and youth STEM programming,” the company added.
Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), Exxon’s local subsidiary, is operator of the Stabroek Block, and holds 45 per cent interest thein, while Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30 per cent interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds the remaining 25 per cent interest.
In May 2023, EEPGL had revealed that it and its reporting contractors had spent more than $80 billion (US$400 million) with more than 1500 Guyanese businesses in 2022 alone. That is part of the more than $180 billion (US$900 million) spent with locals since the first discovery in 2015.
By the end of 2022, the company and contractors had also employed over 5000 Guyanese workers, representing more than 65 per cent of the overall workforce in the local oil and gas industry.
The company noted, too, that the number of Guyanese working offshore continued to grow. Among the 2700 personnel committed to supporting ExxonMobil Guyana’s operations, over 1300 are Guyanese, constituting approximately 48 per cent of the offshore workforce.
Back in 2021, Routledge explained that Guyana had undergone drastic changes in its oil and gas capacity since the early days when the company made its first oil discovery in the Stabroek Block in 2015, to the point where the company wanted to transition its supply chain to Guyana.
He had said that when Exxon started exploration, there was no infrastructure or expertise in place locally to support the company’s operations. This had led Exxon to source those services from Trinidad and Tobago, which has been producing oil on a commercial basis since 1908.
