Guyana weighs unbundling oil contracts so small local firms can bid
Guyana may write a requirement into its Local Content Act forcing oil companies to break big service contracts into smaller pieces, so Guyanese firms that offer only one service can bid for the work.
The proposal was raised at the Guyana Supplier Forum 2026, held on November 4 at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown, under the theme “From capability to growth.” Local Content Secretariat Director Michael Munroe told the forum that writing an unbundling requirement into the law is “an active consideration.”
“We may need to elevate it to the level of the actual law itself or perhaps subsidiary legislation,” Munroe said.
At present, oil companies often bundle several services — pest control, sanitation and security, for example — into a single Request For Proposal. A Guyanese firm that offers only one of those services cannot bid at all, even if it can do that one job well. Unbundling would split those packages so smaller firms can compete for individual pieces of work.
No timetable has been given for the change, and no draft amendment has been published. It remains a proposal under consideration, not a done law.
The forum also heard that the Secretariat will be speaking to oil companies about work specifically carved out for small and women-owned businesses. The Local Content Act 2021 reserves 40 services for Guyanese firms by nationality, but it names neither small businesses nor women-owned businesses anywhere in its 1,212 lines.
The Act’s First Schedule, which lists the reserved services, is under government review, with 20 further areas proposed — which would take the list from 40 to 60.
The money at stake is large. ExxonMobil Guyana told the forum it has spent US$3.9 billion with Guyanese suppliers since 2019, including close to US$700 million in 2025 through 150 contracts, and about US$317 million in the first half of 2026 — that last figure is the operator’s own estimate.
Industry-wide, the Finance Ministry’s Mid-Year Report puts oil-and-gas spending in prioritised sectors at about US$466.2 million in the first half of 2026, up from about US$352 million a year earlier.
For Guyanese suppliers, the question is how much of that spending reaches firms beyond the handful big enough to take on bundled contracts. Unbundling, if it becomes law, would be the clearest move yet to open the door wider.
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