Govt. approves over 40 Local Content Annual Plans for 2026

Jun 18, 2026 News

(Kaieteur News) – The Ministry of Natural Resources’ Local Content Secretariat on Wednesday signed over 40 Local Content Annual Plans of companies operating in the oil and gas sector for the reporting year, 2026.

A handing over ceremony of the letter of approval of local content plans was held at the Roraima Duke Lodge, Duke Street, Kingston.

The Natural Resources Ministry shared that local content and its implementation is largely driven by the submission of local content plans as articulated in the Local Content Act.

Kaieteur News understands that the annual plan is one of the plans that mandate reporting contractors and subcontractors to set out their vision for local content for each calendar year. It positions these reporting contractors and subcontractors to deliberately consider how they foresee complying with their statutory obligations.

Govt. approves over 40 Local Content Annual Plans for 2026

Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat (center) joined by Director of the Local Content Secretariat and the ministry’s Legal Officer Mr. Michael Munroe and President of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), Alistair Routledge handing over the approved Local Content Annual Plan to company representatives on Wednesday.

The annual plan comprises of a narrative and is supplemented by a procurement sub-plan, an employment sub-plan, and a capacity development sub-plan.

According to a release from the ministry, the annual plan must be submitted to the minister for approval no later than thirty days after the beginning of a calendar year. The local content secretariat, acting on the minister’s guidance, rigorously reviews these plans to ensure compliance with the letter and spirit of the Act.

Reporting companies have an opportunity to respond to the secretariat’s observations and routinely resubmit through an iterative collaborative review process. Approving the annual plans reinforces reporting companies’ commitment to local content implementation and underscores the government’s commitment (through the natural resources ministry) to ensuring Guyanese are meaningful participants in Guyana’s patrimony, the ministry stated.

Approved annual plans signify alignment with the local content act’s legislative aspirations, and companies must now implement the plans as approved. These approved plans, along with the subsequent half yearly reports monitor local content implementation, which paves the way for increased opportunities for Guyanese and Guyanese companies.

Director of Local Content Michael Munroe in his remarks said the submission of an annual plan is a statutory obligation. “The (Local Content) Act stipulates what needs to be contained in those plans and really and truly annual plans is the bedrock of local content implementation because once these plans would approve, it forms the basis for the local content implementation activities of the companies within the act reporting scope,” he said.

According to him, the review process of these plans was very rigorous, and the secretariat’s team took the due diligence to ensure that the plan aligns with the objective of the Local Content Act.

Noting continued collaboration with these companies, the Director added “We want to encourage the companies to predispose to the local content implementation, it is very important.”

Applauding companies for adhering to the local content legislation, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat in his address said, “We are comfortable approving your annual local content plan for 2026 because you have been fulfilling whatever obligations you have towards Guyana and the Local Content legislation.”

Speaking about the country’s oil and gas sector, he noted that the intention of the local content legislation was to get Guyanese and Guyanese businesses involved in the sector.

He stated that since 2015, there have been 2,000 local suppliers and almost 7,000 Guyanese working in the oil and gas sector.

“We said to our local companies that you need to be competitive that you need to be competitive both in quality and price. And we have seen that and the local private sector answer to the call, to taking the risk and answering the call and investing,” he mentioned.

Having been supporting the sectors over the years, the minister stated that they have seen that many local companies have the ability and can compete regionally, and are heading to having a space at the global stage as well.

Some of the over 40 companies whose Local Content Plans were approved and signed were ExxonMobil Guyana Ltd., MODEC Guyana Inc., CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Ltd., Guyana Deep Water Operations Inc., SLB, Halliburton, Saipem, Baker Hughes, Ramps Logistics, Technip, Airswift, and G-Port.

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Local Content, Oil and Gas Sector, Roraima Duke Lodge

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