Since coming into operation in January 2022, Guyana’s local content regulator – the Local Content Secretariat – has issued some 354 Local Content Certificates to Guyanese suppliers of the nation’s oil and gas sector.
A Guyanese national or Guyanese company issued a certificate by the Secretariat receives preferential treatment in the award of contracts by the oil companies and their sub-contractors. This document confirms that the Secretariat is satisfied that the holder of the certificate is a Guyanese national or Guyanese company.
Oil companies and their sub-contractors are more incentivized to utilize vendors that are approved by the Secretariat. When registering with the Secretariat, suppliers are asked to submit certain crucial documents, depending on the type of proprietorship.
Once those necessary documents have been lodged, applications go through a rigorous screening process by the Secretariat’s Registration Unit.
This firm system is designed to filter out companies that wish to circumvent the spirit of the law. Registration is free of cost.
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 historic and innovative Local Content Act.
In keeping with the provisions of the legislation, all certified Guyanese companies are published via the Local Content Register – a website that the general public can
easily access.
Director of the Secretariat, Mr Martin Pertab, commented that the unit continues to
work alongside and engage with contractors, sub-contractors, licensees and Guyanese suppliers to ensure that the goals of the Act 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 not yet complete, the director noted that preliminary assessments show that local content earnings from this year alone are well above GY$129 billion.
This massive figure represents 23% of Guyana’s GY$552.9 billion budget for 2022 – the largest recorded budget in the nation’s history.
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.
