A wide cross section of the Energy Chamber membership, spanning from small locally owned contractors through to major oil and gas operator companies, joined together on 20th November for the Energy Chamber’s annual Local Content Forum. Over one hundred and fifty participants were involved in extensive open and transparent dialogue to discuss major issues impacting the energy services sector and to identify areas for action by the Energy Chamber and other stakeholders in the coming year.
The Local Content Forum is an important event in the Energy Chamber’s annual calendar when we report back to the membership on the actions taken over the past year and chart a forward path for the next year. Actions on local content are championed by the Taskforce on Sustainable Energy Services, made up of both contractor and operator representatives, and the Local Content Forum helps set the agenda for the taskforce for the coming year.
The Energy Chamber reported back to membership on the actions we have taken to address the vexing issue of late payments in the sector, the development of an industry wide pre-qualification database and the work we have done on the three identified priority sectors, namely engineering services, marine services and inspection services. Members then took part in detailed discussions on a wide range of topics that impact on the energy services sector including ease of doing business, competency development, safety, emissions reporting, the role of contractors in process safety, regional integration, accessing foreign exchange and increasing in-country value retention in the priority sub-sectors.
The Local Content Forum is a members-only event and a safe space in which members can directly discuss difficult topics and are able to raise sensitive issues.
The primary sponsor for the Forum was Woodside Energy, who supported the event annually for the past 12 years (originally as BHP prior to the merger). The event was also sponsored by Caribbean Gas Chemical Ltd, Trinidad Generation Unlimited, Proman, Touchstone Exploration, Shell, Paria Fuel Trading Co., Atlantic and EOG Resources.