Guyana Has an Extensive Presence and Busy Week in Houston, Texas, Including at the Annual Offshore Technology Conference and Prestigious Baker Institute.
August 19, 2021 – Georgetown, Guyana – This week Guyana had high visibility at OTC 2021, where many members of government and industry were in attendance, including VP Dr. Jarret Jagdeo. In addition to the OTC event, Dr. Jagdeo took part in a conversation at the prestigious Baker Institute at Rice University.
In an event the Baker Institute titled ‘Climate change aspirations and the viability of small developing countries: A conversation with the honorable Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, Vice President of Guyana’, Dr. Jagdeo spoke of challenges facing those countries.
At the global level, reaching the net zero carbon level by the year 2050 will test the political will of governments, industry, and highlight the criticality of effectively engaging individuals in changing their behavior.
“The developing world, including populations of approximately 1.5 billion people, is particularly susceptible to climate change...and has major concerns”, said Dr. Jagdeo. He continued, “A lot of these countries have very narrow economic structures…..If you look at the vulnerability indices from various sources you will see extreme vulnerability to climate change. A single event, such as a hurricane, could wipe out 50 years of accumulated wealth. They are often burdened by debt and fiscally stressed.”
He continued to set out the case and approach for the developed world to be engaged to address these massive challenges, followed by questions from the audience. An important part of the discussion centered on the challenge for developing countries of being caught in a ‘low income, low emissions cycle’. Watch the complete event at: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/events/2248/
In an article appearing in the OTC special edition of the Hart Energy E&P newsletter, the scale of the Guyana-Suriname basin in reserves and production potential was set out. “All eyes are on the Guyana-Suriname Basin. It continues to produce jaw-dropping, truly staggering statistics. Most notably, Guyana and Suriname will be, combined, the third largest oil producer in Latin America and the Caribbean by 2040, responsible for just shy of 15% of total oil production, equivalent to about 1.5 MMbbl/d.” Read the article.
OILNOW reported on the talk of Dr. Jagdeo at OTC 2021 in front of a very different audience, where the theme was the Guyana expectation to have a share of the $4 trillion oil and gas industry. Read the full article here.
“Guyana’s per capita income is now $6,000. Our people have a legitimate expectation of prosperity too. The United States is 70 odd thousand dollars per capita. The other developed countries are within that range or a little bit lower”, said Dr. Jagdeo. “So, we have a legitimate expectation to grow the per capita income, and rapidly too. This industry can contribute to that.”
Guyana featured prominently at the OTC event with a booth presence that drew significant attention. One group in particular at the booth was of strong interest - Guyana Shore Base, Inc. (GYSBI). Two of the founders of the world class shore base were in attendance; Robin Muneshwer and Lars Mangal.
Said Mangal, “Many are surprised when they learn the capabilities of this fully integrated shore base and logistics hub, now supporting 6 deepwater drilling rigs and an FPSO producing 120KBOPD.” Mangal continued, “What the 90%+ Guyanese team is able to deliver in offshore support is a tribute to Robin and the GYSBI leadership team, in particular for safety. We continue to scale with the needs of the offshore operations.” Visit the GYSBI website or connect with them on LinkedIn.
About TOTALTEC
TOTALTEC Oilfield Services is focused on the success of the oil industry in Guyana for the benefit of the country, its people, and partner companies. It does this through three areas: people, partnerships, and facilities. Qualified and motivated Guyanese develop through the International Petroleum & Maritime Academy. Partnerships prioritize products and services that are starting points to grow from, creating new Guyanese led companies. Examples are Guyana Shore Base, Inc. providing support to offshore operations and Jaguar Oilfield Services offering a complete range of lifting equipment and inspection services. The 94% Guyanese TOTALTEC workforce includes 8 nationalities with over 160 years of international oilfield experience. https://www.totaltec-os.com