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GUYANA CHRONICLE Monday, February 28, 2022
Second International Energy Conference billed for February 2023
BUILDING on the success of Guyana’s flagship International Energy Conference and Expo, organisers have announced that the now annual event will be held again on February 14 through February 17, 2023. This announcement was made during a post conference press briefing hosted by the event’s Director of Communications, Alex Graham. Graham and his team dubbed the four-day confab a massive success. This, he said was measured in several key areas. Those areas are: * Creating an environment for B2B (Business to Business) engagements * Facilitating the four Ps – policymakers, professionals, practitioners, professors * Bringing the biggest names in the oil and gas and energy sector to an audience in Guyana, with presentations from Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ExxonMobil, Darren Woods; CEO of Hess Corporation, John Hess; CEO of Eco Atlantic, Gil Holzman; Vice Chairman, Daniel Yergin * Broadening the discussion from oil and gas to energy and suitability, hence the theme of the conference, “Charting a sustainable energy future” * Organisers facilitated B2b in which big opportunities were cre-
Guyana’s flagship International Energy Conference and Expo was packed with powerful presentations and insightful engagements (Adrian Narine photo) ated for small businesses * An environment for further facilitating government-to-government conversations about the specific issues was also facilitated * Several business agreements were inked * Opportunities for small businesses and artisans to showcase their products were also created * Booths were set up for the Ministry of Labour and the National Insurance Scheme to educate the public about those agencies’ mandate
* A webinar was created for academics and students of the University of Guyana with the aim of them benefitting from the presentations and panel discussions * Businesses gained the opportunity to meet with several governments to discuss opportunities for investment and expansion * The event was pulled off and managed by young Guyanese. The oil and gas industry has been dominating conversations, Graham noted, adding, however,
that oil and gas is just one component of the energy future. “We live in a critical age and time where climate change and sustainability are issues that must be addressed. And so, the energy conversation is an important one because it puts us well beyond oil and gas. Oil and gas is significant, but it is only seen as a part of the broader energy mix,” Graham said. He added: “We are not going to work at minimum standards. That is going to the direction op-
posite to where we want to go. Our efforts are going to be to increase the opportunities for access that local businesses have. That is what our goal is and that is why I talk about B2b. The participation and opportunities for Guyanese businesses do not equate to a booth count.” Conference CEO, Angenie Abel, spoke of her expectations of next year’s conference. “[My expectations] would be the inclusion of more industries and how they would adopt
sustainable measures. We want to see more sectors involved – the mining and logging sector and just to build on the conversations that were already fostered,” she said. This year’s conference saw attendance and presentations from President Dr. Irfaan Ali; President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo; President of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santohki and Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley. There were over 170 exhibitors and over 500 delegates.
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said, adding: “We believe that Guyanese must benefit from this new sector. We might not have the knowledge and requisite skills now, but I am sure that in years to come, and with the programmes that the government is putting in place, both in the hu-
man resource capacity as well as the capacity in our local private sector to ensure that they place a meaningful role in the oil and gas sector and bring true benefits to Guyanese and Guyanese businesses.” To advance further consultations and discussions on better con-
ditions for Guyanese and businesses the PSC has established a Local Content Advisory Group, chaired by Shyam Nokta. Other members of the group are Chairman of the PSC, Paul Cheong; President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (GCCI), Timothy Tucker; Executive Director of GCCI, Richard Rambarran; Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham)’s Local Content Committee, Joel Bhagwandin and Director at AmCham and Women in Oil and Gas, Dr. Mellissa Var-
swyk. The advisory group, according to the PSC, will coordinate and advance the local content efforts of the PSC and its member organisations and businesses. “The PSC will continue to work in close coordination with the Government of Guy-
ana, the oil and gas operators, the Centre for Local Business Development, businesses, and other stakeholders in order to train and educate the Guyanese labour force to take full advantage of the local content opportunities,” the private sector body said.
