Latest update February 13th, 2025 8:56 AM
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Moves afoot to provide oil and gas education
– UG to get $100M from GGMC
With the discovery of oil offshore Guyana, government is making several strides to ensure that locals are given the opportunity to be trained for employment in the sector.
Already, the University of Guyana stands to receive $100M in financial support from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission to provide programmes to train and educate Guyanese.
This is according to Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman. Trotman said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has already been signed between the Ministry and UG for the money to be handed over this year to start relevant programmes. According to the Minister, the money will cover a five year period.
Further, Trotman said that government is working with all of the companies involved in the sector, that are operating in Guyana to ensure money is set aside to provide training and capacity building. 
“So already, we are processing applications for scholarships. Persons in GGMC are being sent out. I can say as well the Public Service Department is actively issuing scholarships. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also homing in on opportunities.”
Trotman explained that he was informed that the Government of Chile has made offers to assist in this regard. He added that the Mexican Government and its Petroleum Institute are getting ready to sign a MoU with Guyana for the establishment of a Petroleum Institute in Guyana.
“Hopefully, we can base it at the University of Guyana, but also there is a component in that for training at Universities in Mexico. So we are gathering everything, even as we speak and people are starting to go off.”
The Minister recalled that following the release of the Caribbean Secondary Examination Council results last year, his ministry met with top students who indicated their interest in becoming petroleum engineers.
“We actually met with each one of them, we brought them to the Ministry with their parents and we’ve been monitoring them and have started the process. Many of them are now in sixth form, and so we are in constant review with them to ensure they are on track to graduate and are looking at universities that they may go…but the opportunities are in Mexico, China, the U.S. of course, Scotland, New Zealand, and Australia. So we’re starting the process of matching expectations with institutions.”
He added that Guyanese who are involved in the oil and gas industry abroad have started to come home. Thus far one such person has registered a company called “Total Tech”.
“We believe that we may have found a way to work with that company in conjunction with ExxonMobil to train Guyanese and they are different positions; some of them are ordinary seaman, some are roustabouts.”
Trotman stressed that government would like to see that a modest number of Guyanese are employed in the sector. He said that this is hoped to be achieved through the Local Content policy.
He said that it is something government is very concerned about and has taken action to ensure that even on the vessels which are currently operating, that Guyanese are on-board.
The Minister said that for someone to be employed in the sector, they would need to receive special training, since it is a highly technical job. He said that at the level of government, work is being done with the Ministry of Education to boost capacities at the technical institutes and at UG.
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