Two Canadian tertiary institutions have offered to supplement the oil and gas industry Guyana is pursuing by sharing the wealth of knowledge and expertise they have accrued in the oil, gas and mining.
The College of the North Atlantic and The Marine Institute of Memorial University made the pitch to the Guyana Government at the invitation of the Canadian High Commissioner David Divine, a report from the Government Information Agency (GINA) has said.
President of the College of the North Atlantic Ann Marie Vaughan and officials from the other institution, accompanied by the ambassador, met President Donald Ramotar on Tuesday to exchange views and information on the natural resources sector. Both institutions, based in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, collaborated to develop an oil and gas industry over the last 25 years, leading to a transformed Canadian economy, the report said.
In an invited comment, Vaughan told GINA that the development has caused the Province to move from one titled “A have not Province” to a leader of economic growth within Canada. She believes the potential is there for oil and gas development in Guyana and even though a discovery has yet to be made, investors are keeping their fingers crossed and are holding firm to the potential of the Guyana offshore basin as a vastly under explored area.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Divine said the discovery prospect is favourable, pointing to the recent discovery in French Guiana and highlighting the importance of planning ahead by passing on the requisite knowledge about the industry to the right stakeholders.
The team’s working visit to Guyana included meetings with officials of the government, education and training institutions, GINA said.
The College of the North Atlantic is one of the largest post-secondary educational and skills training centres in Canada and The Marine Institute of Memorial University is considered a centre of excellence in advanced fisheries and marine technology encompassing education and training, applied research, and technology transfer.
