Exxon says over $60B spent on local content since 2015

OIL and Gas company ExxonMobil has spent more than G$60 billion on purchasing goods and services from local suppliers in Guyana since 2015.

This is according to the company’s Local Content Adviser Devon Seeram, who during an ExxonMobil virtual update recently, said that between the period of 2015 (when ExxonMobil began operations in Guyana) to the end of the first half of 2020, the company spent more than G$60B on local content.

Essentially, this means that the company has spent that much money using products and services offered by Guyanese businesses and suppliers.

In the first half of 2020 alone, he said that more than 600 Guyanese vendors have been utilised for goods and services, with more than G$14 billion being spent with those businesses for the procurement of goods and services, ranging from foodstuff to engineering,

Additionally, he noted that 700 unique suppliers from Guyana have benefitted from consistent training offered locally and abroad, in an attempt to develop Guyanese in a “strategic and sustainable manner” for long-term development.

“A key component of local content is development,” Seeram said, explaining that Guyanese who want to get involved in the sector – whether as workers or as suppliers – have to conform to international standards, as oil and gas is a highly regularised sector.

For suppliers here, there is the Centre for Local Business Development (CLBD) which provides training and assistance with getting jobs offered by the company. The Centre’s Supplier Registration Portal, on the CLBD’s website, usually has a list of planned tenders to provide goods or services related to ExxonMobil Guyana and its prime contractors. The list adds to ongoing efforts to provide Guyanese businesses information on upcoming opportunities available in the oil-and-gas industry.

Seeram also related that ExxonMobil Guyana’s direct workforce stands at 155 employees, of which 87 are Guyanese, which corresponds to approximately 56 percent of the workforce. There are also approximately 2,000 Guyanese supporting the company’s activities.

On this virtual update too, Community Relations Manager for the company, Suzanne DeAbreau noted that ExxonMobil, since 2015, has committed more than $2.5B in keeping with its corporate social responsibility (CSR). Focus areas of the company have been Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, youth, women and community empowerment and environmental sustainability.

Additionally, ExxonMobil Guyana and its Stabroek Block co-venture partners have given over G$60 million towards local COVID-19 relief efforts. This relief, DeAbreau highlighted, included hampers, personal protective equipment (PPE) and the establishment of a soup kitchen.

Furthermore, she said that ExxonMobil Guyana on its own has given an additional G$15 million to support students during the pandemic through the National Centre of Educational Resource Development (NCERD) and the Rotary Club of Stabroek.