19 December, 2022 – Georgetown, Guyana – The Guyana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) held its 133rd Annual Awards Presentation and Gala Dinner last Thursday, where among the winners, Guyana Shore Base Inc. received the President’s Local Content Award. Leaders from government, local industry, and the diplomatic community gathered to celebrate those individuals and companies who have had a significant impact on the development and growth of Guyana over the past year.
His excellency, President Dr. Irfan Ali delivered the keynote address outlining the government outlook and goals for 2023. The winners reflected the diversity of those industries now benefitting from the discovery of oil by ExxonMobil in 2015, with production beginning at the end of 2019.
Awards recognized companies from a variety of business sectors, including healthcare, agriculture, accounting and IT/infrastructure business solutions, reflecting the breadth of capacity building taking place across the country.
Award Winners Reflect Local Content Legislation
Attendees at the Marriott Hotel Ballroom were a ‘who’s who’ of local industry, and a number who will be the future leaders as their businesses grow with the development of the Guyana energy sector.
A number of award recipients were in the sectors set out in the Guyana Local Content Act of December 2021, for example transportation services, accounting, shipping and logistics. The act set out a challenging, yet achievable, set of minimum local content levels ‘by sector’ (as measured by ‘end of 2022 percent spend’) aligned to the existing foundational industries and capacities in the country.
TOTALEC CEO Lars Mangal observed, “I can envision local companies leading Guyana to become a regional center for a number of industries, beyond energy. Consider our potential in agriculture and tourism, and certainly environment related ones.”
Guyana Shore Base Inc. (GYSBI) a Deserving Winner
The President’s Award for Local Content went to Guyana Shore Base Inc. GYSBI was formed in 2017 by four companies with a shared vision for what ExxonMobil would need to support its offshore activities. Each brought a critical ingredient; a base location (Muneshwers, Ltd.), experience in building and operating a base to international standards (Pacific Rim Constructors and LED Offshore Ltd., respectively), and deep industry experience in operations, in particular remote, offshore (TOTALTEC).
Today, just 5 years later, GYSBI operates 24/7/365 with more than 620 employees, 95% Guyanese, on a 28 acre site, 4 berths for working vessels, with an adjacent 100 acre industrial park. In July 2022 GYSBI signed an 11 year contract extension for shore base services with ExxonMobil.
On the occasion of the award, TOTALTEC CEO Lars Mangal remarked, “GYSBI is an excellent example of capacity building for other local companies to learn from. They continue to add new services valuable to customers, ones having synergy with the foundational ones that got them started.”
Mangal continued, “For example waste management services. Drilling and production operations produce significant waste that must be handled in an environmentally responsible manner. GYSBI researched this, developed the capability to handle these wastes to international standards, and is now delivering these services.”
Growing GCCI Through Growing Capacity
The winners (see below) reflect a cross section of industries just beginning to have the impact of the rapid economic growth in Guyana.
However, with the exception of GYSBI, the majority of GCCI members are not directly involved in the energy sector. There is a significant opportunity for GCCI to grow through engaging a generation of companies with competencies new to Guyana, ones highly technical, with their revenue directly from onshore/offshore energy related operations.
Mangal commented, “There are a number of new business opportunities for Guyanese companies for products and services used directly in the energy sector, and GYSBI is showing the way. Many will require partnering to accelerate capacity building, something TOTALTEC has been focused on since its inception in 2016.”
President Dr. Irfan Ali and TOTALTEC CEO Lars Mangal engaged in conversation at the GCCI Annual Awards.
Resources Related to the GCCI Awards Event
GCCI Website coverage of the event International Energy Conference & Exhibition website https://gcci.gy/gccis-133rd-annual-awards-presentation-and-gala-dinner/
List of award recipients (copied from the GCCI event website):
The 2022 GCCI Annual Awards Recipients are:
Business of the Year (Large): GTT Business Solutions
Business of the Year (Medium): Cyril’s Transportation Service
Business of the Year (Small): Chateram Ramdihal, Chartered Accountants, Professional Services Firm
Business of the Year (Micro): Nice Touch Spa and Mobile Unit
Lifetime Achievement: Sattaur Gafoor, Gafsons Industries Limited
Woman in Business: Evie Kanhai-Gurchuran, Proprietor, Envisage Marketing & Technology Company
President’s Award: Harold Hopkinson, CEO, Secure Innovations and Concepts Inc.
Chamber Award: Brian Edward, Managing Director, Green Agro Services & Supplies Inc.
Young Business Executive: Phil Surooj, CEO, PS Shipping and Customs Brokerage Inc.
Award for Innovation: OnCall Health Inc.
Corporate Citizenship Award: Barama Company Limited
Public Service Award of Excellence: Guyana Defence Force
Outstanding Green Business: Everything Makes Craft
President’s Local Content Award: Guyana Shore Base Inc.
Media Award: Guyana Times
Special Recognition Awards – local content awards were given in recognition of stellar contributions to local content development
Richard Rambarran – Specialist in Business, Economics, Finance and Public Policy, Former Executive Director of the Chamber.
Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer – Director, National Hardware, Past President of the Chamber
Hon. Deodat Indar – Minister within the Ministry of Public Works
About TOTALTEC
TOTALTEC is focused on the success of the energy 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 TOTALTEC Academy, where more than 1,200 have been trained. Partnerships prioritize products and services that are starting points to grow from, creating new Guyanese led companies, for example Jaguar Oilfield Services. Facilities include Guyana Shore Base Inc (GYSBI, also a partnership) providing a complete range of services to onshore/offshore operations. The TOTALTEC 94% Guyanese workforce includes 6 nationalities with more than 160 years of international oilfield experience. https://www.totaltec-os.com