More than 2,000 local businesses have participated in Guyana’s rapidly expanding oil and gas sector, with ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge saying the industry has helped local companies build capacity and take on increasingly significant roles.
Routledge made the disclosure during a recent interview on the Energy Perspectives podcast, where he highlighted the growth of Guyanese businesses alongside the country’s transformation into a major oil producer.
He said ExxonMobil has been working to ensure that the benefits of the industry extend beyond oil production by investing in local businesses and developing the capacity needed to support increasingly complex operations.
“We’ve got in excess of 2,000 local businesses that have participated in and are currently participating in the oil and gas industry,” Routledge said.
According to him, the growth of local businesses has gone beyond small-scale contracts, with Guyanese companies now undertaking major investments and developing infrastructure to support the sector.
He pointed specifically to shore bases, some of which involve investments worth hundreds of millions of US dollars, as examples of the scale of business activity that has developed around the industry.
He said local companies have also formed partnerships and joint ventures while building the management systems, standards and technical capacity required to compete in the oil and gas sector.
Routledge said ExxonMobil’s Centre for Local Business Development, established in 2017, has played an important role in helping Guyanese businesses prepare for opportunities created by the industry.
The initiative focuses on building the capacity of local companies so they can undertake larger investments and provide services required by the oil and gas sector.
He stated, “We’re investing in people, we’re investing in local businesses, and we’re investing in the capability to make sure that we can have a sustainable industry.”
Routledge also pointed to the development of Guyana’s workforce, noting that ExxonMobil and its contractors have delivered more than 1.5 million hours of training since 2023.
He said the training is intended to equip workers to take on more challenging opportunities as the industry expands.
Guyana’s oil sector has grown rapidly since the first major offshore discovery in 2015 and first oil production in 2019.
Production is now approaching 900,000 barrels per day, with further projects expected to push output beyond one million barrels per day.
Routledge said the development of local businesses and workers is important not only to the present oil industry but also to Guyana’s broader economic diversification.
The expansion of local capacity, he said, gives Guyanese businesses and workers an opportunity to participate in increasingly sophisticated areas of the economy as the country continues to develop its natural resources.
“The journey is not done. We’ve got a lot more to do, but I think the foundations are being built for a very strong future for Guyana,” Routledge noted.
