With projections for the production of 220,000 barrels of oil per day from 2023 and 500,000 by 2025, ExxonMobil yesterday said that the Houston, East Bank Demerara shore base alone will not suffice and has advertised for firms to show their onshore support services capabilities.
While emphasising that local content requirements must be met, the company released information on the Request for Information (RFI) with strict declaration and due diligence criteria to be met before consideration. It made it clear that only companies registered with its Centre for Local Business Development (CLBD) will be eligible.
ExxonMobil informed that its subsidiary – Esso Exploration and Produc-tion Guyana Limited (EEPGL) – is “seeking to identify companies who can provide shore base services in Guyana to support the needs of its future Guyana project starting in 2023,” the advertisement in yesterday’s edition of the Stabroek News stated.
EEPGL states on the CLDB website that it is looking for a company to put in place an enabling agreement for project shore base facilities, equipment, and services to support future Guyana projects. (https://centreguyana.com/opportunities/)
“The scope of this Request for Information (RFI) is to identify Contractors who can provide a fully functional, fit for purpose shore base located in Guyana to support the needs of future Guyana projects starting in 2023. This includes the following: documented proof of lease/land ownership, berthage capacity and capability to support a range of vessels, dedicated area for storage and staging of materials and equipment, dedicated area for fabrication, dedicated office and warehouse space, dedicated material/ cargo handling & equipment, personnel, plans, and procedures required to support and operate the shore base,” the RFI documents states.
It says that the RFI has several objectives and it laid them out. ‘First, we may use responses from you and the other participants to validate and further develop our team’s recommendations for inclusion in the Request for Proposal (RFP) for shore base services in Guyana. The RFI process allows us to seek your input and develop a list of qualified bidders before structured bid rules take effect.”
“Second, the RFI process provides you an opportunity to begin developing your responses to some of the potential requirements if you are selected for the RFP. Finally, EEPGL in its sole discretion, may divide the services described in this RFI and in a future RFP (Request for Proposal) into several enabling agreements that may be awarded to more than one bidder,” it added while highlighting that the RFI gives no commitment to a contract with bidders.
The document underscores local content commitments as it states that the company’s local content strategy is core to its business. “Its elements are formally integrated into daily processes and procedures, and guides the way we work today and plan for tomorrow. Using a multi-tiered approach, we focus on building workforce and supplier capabilities in conjunction with strategic investments in the local community. At ExxonMobil, this approach is called local content. ExxonMobil recognizes that Guyanese suppliers and their workforce are vital to the success of our operations.”
Also highlighted was that contractors must show a plan for local content here, and that the contractor shall be responsible for implementing a number of local content requirements, along with any local content requirements issued by a Guyanese governmental authority.
“To support Company’s objectives of maximizing the use of Guyanese workers and suppliers, Contrac-tor shall: a. Prepare and implement a program to maximize employment of Guyanese nationals (during the Work) having appropriate qualifications and necessary experience to conduct operations. b. Give preference to the following: i. the purchase of Guyanese goods and materials, provided such goods and materials are available on a timely basis of the quality and in the quantity required by Contractor at competitive prices. ii. utilization of Guyanese contractors insofar as they are commercially competitive and satisfy Contractor’s financial and technical requirements and meet the requirements of Section 3.1.1.b.i. c. Establish appropriate tender procedures for the acquisition of goods, materials, and services, which shall ensure that Guyanese contractors are given an adequate opportunity to compete for the supply of goods and services. d. Ensure that its subcontractors comply with the requirements contained in this section 3.1.1.,” the document states.
Along with the RFI, companies have to declare to ExxonMobil how many years they have been in business, what types of business, if they operate via an owned affiliate/ legal entity, if they are registered to work here, if they have the ability to obtain necessary permits, and if they were or are linked to any litigation.
Noted too, and a clear indication that the company does not want to be tied into any land dispute, applicants must produce valid ownership and legitimate lease of the proposed location with supporting documents.
This is in addition to the company’s General Vendor Information, which was revised in 2019 and has sections to declare relationships to government officials and all sources of income for the project.
“Please provide details of the land owned or controlled by your company in Guyana that is being proposed for use. Demonstrate if this is outright ownership via certificate of title or transport or a long term lease. If a lease, please state if private lease or government lease, the term of the lease and restrictions on land use that may be relevant to the scope of the RFI. Include description of location, maps, photographs, plot acreage and plans, and your assessment on whether the land is suitable for developing a shore base, including topographic and soil conditions, and marine surveys as available,” the RFI questionnaire states.
All access to the site must also be provided, the company said. “Please provide details of all site access routes. Include details of all road and water access. Road access details shall include specifics regarding any weight or dimensional limitations. Water access details shall include navigation aids, draft (quayside and channel), tidal restrictions and marine traffic pattern,” the document states.
Prospective bidders will also have to detail, some in essay form, their views on the current and future state of shore-base supply and demand in Guyana, based on their feasibility studies or market research.
Based on their view of the shore base market in Guyana, they must also describe their company’s development plans for the proposed location, including phases of development, associated timeline, companies involved in the development and their roles, and potential for site expansion. “Please indicate what activities in the timeline have already been completed. Please also confirm that your company is not aware of any marine logistics or quayside development impediments that will prevent you from meeting your associated timeline.”
“Please provide detailed descriptions of your proposed shore base facilities (e.g. number and size of berths, warehouse, laydown areas, pipe yards, etc.), logistics assets (material handling and transport equipment and personnel), and infrastructure (roads, offices, securities, utilities, etc). Please indicate the levels of cargo throughput, vessel turnaround, storage and warehousing capacity the proposed shore base can handle and manage, and plans to offer any other levels of services,” it adds.
Companies will have to, in 500 words or less, describe how they will build capacity and capabilities of the workforce, suppliers, and infrastructure within Guyana “through work with Guyanese suppliers in construction facilities, fabricating or procurement equipment, and operating facilities.”
In 2017, ExxonMobil had signed a US$ multimillion deal with the Guyana Shore Base Inc (GYSBI) for offshore support services.
In 2019, GYSBI had announced that it had sunk over US$100 million ($20.8 billion) into its operations here and planned to invest US$50 million ($10.4 billion) in the next 12 months.
But with 17 discoveries to date and a reserve at over 9 billion barrels of oil, GYSBI alone cannot meet the capacity needed, ExxonMobil’s local Public Relations Advisor Janelle Persaud confirmed and hence yesterday’s RFI notice.
Interested persons were directed to the Request for Information directions online and the company also informed that a Zoom clarification meeting will be held next week Tuesday, March 9.
