Local businesses forging partnerships to capitalise on oil and gas boom

PSC Chairman Gerald Gouveia Jr.

Guyana businesses are forming strategic partnerships to tap into opportunities in the country’s rapidly growing oil and gas sector, while leveraging local content legislation, PSC Chairman Gerald Gouveia Jr. said.

Speaking on a recent edition of the Starting Point Podcast, Gouveia said the local business community is responding to President Dr. Irfaan Ali’s call to innovate, collaborate, and build new enterprises amid the country’s oil and gas transformation.

“We’ve been pushing partnerships in Guyana, especially in the oil and gas sector. We have to grow quickly. We started from exploration to production in five years. Most countries take twenty. So, in order for us to capitalise on the growth of our oil and gas sector, the private sector had to find international partners– whether it’s capital, technology or human resources. And then that really accelerated our business,” he noted.

Gouveia added that the sector can now focus on opportunities in specialised equipment, data management, logistics, warehousing, and shipping.

“These now start to become real opportunities for Guyanese as we find our international partners. Currently, we’re going through that process of identifying industries, identifying opportunities, and very shortly you’re going to see us do our official submission to the government in terms of how we’d like to expand the local content legislation,” he said.

He further stated that the diversification of the Guyanese economy has created a level playing field where more businesses can share “a piece of the pie.”

This shift, Gouveia said, has motivated businesses by fostering collaboration over competition. The PSC has responded with a consortium framework, which has driven advancements in tourism, housing, shipping, and other sectors.