ExxonMobil fails to come clean on number of Guyanese trained for senior positions

Jul 20, 2020 News

Since beginning its operations in 2015, ExxonMobil has boasted about the number of Guyanese it has hired. In fact, the oil giant has voluntarily disclosed that more than 50 percent of its workforce is made up of locals.

Deedra Moe, ExxonMobil’s Senior Director for Public and Government Affairs

But when it comes to providing a breakdown on the positions these Guyanese occupy, the American multinational is yet to break its silence.
Last week, Kaieteur News reached out to Exxon requesting information regarding the training of local personnel for the oil and gas sector specifically, the number of locals trained for jobs in the sector, along with a breakdown of the levels of training provided.
Deedra Moe, the company’s Senior Director for Public and Government Affairs, responded saying that more than 50 percent of the company’s total workforce is Guyanese. She said, “Approximately 2,200 of the ExxonMobil employees, contractors and subcontractors supporting its activities in Guyana are Guyanese—more than 50 percent of the total workforce. This number will continue to grow as additional operations progress.”
Moe added that over 350,000 hours of training have been provided to Guyanese staff working on ExxonMobil Guyana activities since 2018. She pointed out that more than 70 Guyanese have had or are currently benefiting from hands-on oil and gas experience through overseas training in Brazil, Canada, Singapore and the United States. She said that in terms of a breakdown of the type of training provided, “through the end of 2019, more than 50 percent of training hours were on technical and professional subjects.”
She failed to answer the question, however, of “specifically how many persons were trained for senior positions.”
Kaieteur News brought this to the attention of the ExxonMobil employee and up to press time, there was no response.
In Guyana’s Local Content Policy, companies like ExxonMobil are asked to have Guyanese assigned to senior management positions such as General Managers, Directors, Vice Presidents, members of the Executive Board among others.
The document also stipulates that operators must submit a Local Content Plan to the subject Minister within 60 days prior to the beginning of each year and it should be updated annually.
This plan which covers the period January to December 31 and should include project-specific estimates on the utilization of Guyanese workers, suppliers and subcontractors, the training of Guyanese persons, the capacity building of Guyanese Suppliers, and other capacity building initiatives to support the objectives of Government policy for Local Content in the petroleum sector.
Regrettably, this information is only available to the Minister with portfolio responsibility for the oil and gas sector and not to the public due to confidentiality clauses in the Policy.
Kaieteur News would have reported extensively that this clause is not in keeping with international best practices and practically erases the level of transparency and accountability that should govern all activities in the industry.