Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram, is of the firm view that the list of 227 companies submitted by ExxonMobil as part of its local content efforts is not only an embarrassment to the government but a gross insult to all Guyanese.
In an interview with Kaieteur News, recently, the lawyer said that the roots of the “insulting” list can be traced back to the government’s issuing of an exploration and production licence without the contractor providing information that is necessarily required under the Petroleum and Exploration Regulations.
The Chartered Accountant said, “This information deals with ExxonMobil’s local content plans. The Minister (of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman) according to the regulations should be satisfied that these plans are adequate.
“Judging from the list that the company submitted to the Government, Trotman did not do a proper assessment and has to take responsibility for this. He is responsible for the condescending attitude that the ExxonMobil representatives display to this country.”

Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram

It was on Tuesday that the Government released the list of companies submitted to it by ExxonMobil. Officials attached to the oil company later explained that list reflects companies it used, or those utilized by its contractors for the first quarter of 2018.
But the list of “registered companies” has been found to be padded not only with the names of media houses it uses for advertisements, but also with 41 names of individuals.
International Local Content Expert, Rene Tissot, told Kaieteur News recently that, “ads in newspapers and catering and hotel services are low hanging fruits…”
Tissot said it is important for Governments to understand the difference between local content and spending that benefits the local economy.
The Local Content expert said, “If an oil company wants to do advertising for jobs or advertise something about its local branch in Guyana, then they have to utilize the media in that country. You don’t expect them to put the advertisements in the New York Times.
“Also, there are some services such as those provided by hotels and restaurants that they just don’t have a choice to use. This is money they would have spent anyway and it benefits the local economy. But please, this is not local content.”
Tissot added, “Local Content, on the other hand, goes much deeper than this. The heart of Local Content speaks to the development of local skills, the transfer and use of technology, the expansion of local manpower and the growth of local manufacturing. Local Content looks at the ‘value’ of the investment into these areas to such a degree that it is lasting. Local Content in short, promotes industrialization…”
The Local Content expert said, “The depth of the investment and/or the value of the investment are crucial when referring to something as local content.”
The International Advisor also said that a list with restaurants, hotels and media houses would be best described as “shallow in terms of value creation.”
He concluded, “I would be disappointed to look back 15 years from now and see that local content in Guyana refers to ads in newspapers, catering services, etc.”