Georgetown, Guyana (May 6, 2016)-Following on the historic discovery of a significant deposit of hydrocarbons off the coast of Guyana by ExxonMobil in 2015, Government has held several continuing engagements with ExxonMobil officials. As preparations are being made to develop the Liza1 well for eventual production, a ministerial visit was proposed to the company’s new campus headquarters in Houston, Texas, USA. Additionally, Government, and in particular, the Ministries of Natural Resources and Finance, have been working assiduously to enhance capacities to develop policies, identify and apply the appropriate legal mechanisms to manage and regulate the industry, and to ensure that the national patrimony is managed and preserved so that all Guyanese now, and well into the future, can benefit equally.
Planning for the visit began several weeks ago. The Ministers of Natural Resources, Public Infrastructure and Business, Hon. Raphael Trotman, Hon. David Patterson and Hon. Dominic Gaskin respectively, engaged in extensive discussions with high level ExxonMobil officials and executives over the two day visit. Members of the delegation were updated about ongoing and planned exploratory activities following the significant discovery in the Liza1 well, and engaged in interactive sessions that covered important topics such as an exploration update, development of the well for production, capacity building to ensure Guyanese involvement and ownership in the various stages of development of the industry, and the energy outlook to 2040, which showed petroleum remaining in high demand.
The visiting delegation was also taken on a tour of ExxonMobil’s new campus and ultra modern headquarters, which included its state of the art laboratories where actual samples of hydrocarbons from all over the world are analyzed and processed. The levels of attention to detail, impressive facilities for workers, and the work ethic were outstanding features that were unmistakable during the visit.
The visit ended with both Government and ExxonMobil hailing it as highly successful and pledging to deepen relations to enhance cooperation to ensure the smooth, expeditious and mutually beneficial development of Guyana’s oil and gas industry. The Ministers were accompanied to Houston, Texas by ExxonMobil’s officials – Mr. Jeff Simons, Country Manager (Guyana), and Ms. Kimberly Brasington, Senior Director – Public & Government Affairs (Guyana), and joined in Houston, for the duration of the visit, by Dr. Erik Oswald, Vice President (Americas).
