Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 28, 2021 News
Kaieteur News – Guyana’s draft Local Content Bill is on schedule to be presented in Parliament before the end of this year. Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall, SC, disclosed on Tuesday that the document is receiving the attention of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel and team within his Chambers.The AG noted that the team is making the finishing touches to the draft bill before it takes it to the next parliamentary session.
During a recent press engagement, the AG stressed that local content is an important strategic issue in the oil and gas industry. As such, he noted that the government and other stakeholders are seeking to secure greater local benefits from oil and gas production.
Nandlall said these expectations are important factors in the way the government determines which companies gain access to hydrocarbon business opportunities.
In this regard, the first schedule of the draft bill notes that the Government of Guyana will work with local companies to realise a range of additional business benefits in terms of building sound relationships with project-affected communities; establishing and maintaining a social licence to operate; capturing the performance and efficiency benefits of a qualified local workforce; and developing cost-effective, efficient, and responsive supply chains.
The document notes that local content must be a means to promote economic development by creating opportunities for the Guyanese labour force and business sector in defined area of work where the skills are available. Thus, Guyanese company must mean any company incorporated under the Companies Act with at least 51 percent of its equity shares are issued to Guyanese Nationals or Guyanese companies.
As it relates to some services such as cementing services, directional drilling services, tools and wireline logging that are currently being implemented by International Tier 1, the document states that Guyana is moving towards an encouragement of more joint ventures and partnerships through technological adaptation and skills transfer.
“This would allow for our local labour force and business to better participate in the provision of these services,” the AG noted.
In this regard, the draft document explains that there are two categories of services: “Well watch services that refer to partnerships (where necessary) between international and local companies to employ and locate Guyanese nationals and fluid or bottom whole sampling service which refer to partnerships (where necessary) to provide opportunities for locals to be employed.”
During the first half of the year, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, had announced that efforts are underway for the Local Content Bill to be in Parliament before the year ends.
“We are moving swiftly. We’re hoping before the end of the year that we have a draft legislation that we can put before the Parliament to deal with local content and driving more business and jobs for our people,” added the Vice President.
Jagdeo noted too that efforts are also underway to engage industry experts on how to best achieve this, with the new Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, indicating that provisions for local content targets will be in place so that Guyana can see measured growth in the number of Guyanese trained and hired and the services and goods procured on an annual basis.
During an interview on Kaieteur Radio programme, Guyana’s Oil and You, Minister Bharrat said, “…with regards to the local content policy, I would prefer that there are specifics with regards to how much business will come to Guyana, how many people will be employed…”
In order to achieve the targets for local content, the Minister stressed that there would be a great need for capacity building. In this regard, he said that while there may be a provision, which says, for example, that 10 percent or 50 percent of the workforce should be Guyanese, if locals are not trained or they lack the necessary technical proficiencies, then those desired targets would not be met.
“So, while we will be making demands for a percentage of the workforce to be Guyanese, we ought to equip them to work too and to deliver at the same time,” he said.
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