‘There has to be changes’ – Jagdeo says as Exxon waters down need for increased local content

Nov 09, 2025 News

---

…legislation likely to govern gas development

(Kaieteur News) – Days after it was reported that ExxonMobil believes there is no need to increase targets for greater Guyanese participation in the oil and gas sector, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has sent a clear signal that changes to the legislation will be coming.

During a press conference at Freedom House, Robb Street, Georgetown, the chief policymaker for the petroleum sector said, “I saw the President of ExxonMobil Guyana here saying that we might not need to move the percentages up or change the law. Well, we believe it has to be changed. I disagree with him on that. We are going to be having that conference and that will require, either through the regulations or if the core Act has to be changed, we’ll change it.”

He was referring to the Local Content Act, passed by the PPP administration in 2021. The first schedule of the Act sets out 40 categories of work for Guyanese participation via the supply of goods and the provision of services which include: food supply, rental of office space, accommodation, insurance, accounting and legal services.

The law is intended to regulate the way companies operate in Guyana’s oil and gas sector; employ persons, buy services and the way that they procure goods. Since its passage, the private sector has been calling on government to revise the schedule to increase Guyanese participation in the industry.

However, EMGL President, Alistair Routledge told reporters during a press conference last month that “fixed targets” can be motivational but can also lead to overinvestment where there is only a limited demand.

According to him, “As it is always, the question is, is it a good thing or not to have, you know, those fixed targets. They can be both motivational, but they can also tend to lead to over investment because people rush in saying, well, I’m guaranteed to get work if I invest in that kind of skill or whether product or service offering.”

Routledge added, “But of course, there is only a certain amount of demand. So, I think what has been happening pragmatically over the last several years is that because as an industry, we’ve committed to working so proactively with the government on building up the capacity in the industry, matching the demand with the supply, encouraging other foreign direct investments through these smart partnerships, for now, at least we haven’t seen a need from the government to push additional targets.”

Exxon believes that there is already great collaboration across the industry between government and the private sector with various training institutions now upskilling Guyanese. To this end, Routledge noted, “So as long as we are all working together, I believe that is the most constructive way, and probably the fastest way to efficiently build local capacity, so that the local supply chain can benefit from the opportunities in the center.”

While ExxonMobil has dismissed the need for Guyanese to have greater participation in the sector, citing “demand” concerns, the company is on course to almost double its current rate of production over the next few years.

Presently, four projects are in operation and are set to produce 900,000 barrels of oil daily. In the meantime, three other projects are in the development phase, with an eight-development pending government approval. By 2027, Exxon is aiming to increase Guyana’s daily production rate to 1.7 million barrels per day by 2030.

Gas legislation

Meanwhile, with regard to the monetisation of the country’s gas resources, VP Jagdeo explained that if the sector requires changes, then government will ensure the necessary legislation is in place. He said, “If that requires legislative changes then fine, but there are some regulations that we now need to put in place for the main Act that we passed (Petroleum Activities Act) and also on the environmental side, the one on pollution (Oil Pollution, Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Responsibility Act). Those are the two Acts that we need to complete the regulations for.”

Jagdeo clarified that if further legislation is required to govern the gas industry, the necessary laws will be put in place.

“If we need further legislative changes to facilitate the growth of the gas sector, that will be done to monetise and democratize the opportunities that we spoke of, like fertilizer and the cooking gas and promoting Guyanese ownership. Should we need legislative changes, then that will be done to structure the companies,” he pointed out.

Guyana is actively pursuing the development of its gas resources through the Wales Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project. The first phase of the project will see gas being utilised to generate electricity and market Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs).  Government has also revealed plans for a fertilizer plant and other initiatives to generate revenue from the resources.

---

• Exxon, gas, Jagdeo, Law, legislation, Local Content

---