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Government is taking steps to assist in developing the capabilities and competitiveness of local businesses, so they can more effectively participate in supplying goods and services in the emerging offshore oil and gas and renewable energy industry’s value chains.

To this end, the Ministry of Energy and Business, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Government of India, will be hosting a series of events for stakeholders in the energy sector, from June 20 to July 8.

The events will begin with a one-day Barbados Energy Local Content Plenary Stakeholders Workshop on Monday, June 20, from 9:00 a.m., at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St. Michael. 

Over 70 stakeholders in the private and public sectors are expected to gather for the discussions, which will be led by the consultant for the Barbados Energy Local Content Project.

Economist in the Ministry of Energy and Business, Alton Best, explained that the workshop and meetings with the consultant were designed to facilitate the required planning of economic diversity and investment in the strategic development for the Barbados Energy Local Content for the energy sector.

“Participation by local producers and suppliers in the energy value-chain activities in Barbados, as in many developing countries, has been limited because of several barriers. These obstacles include inadequate capacity of local suppliers to compete for market opportunities; existing local content policies and regulatory requirements and effective implementation, and high capital and specialised input requirements by the energy industry.

“In seeking to address these challenges, Government pursued the Barbados Energy Local Content Project to facilitate the strengthening of its policy and regulatory framework for local content development; oversight capacity; development of competitive capabilities for local manufacturers and service providers, and access to market opportunities available in the energy value chain in Barbados,” Mr. Best explained.

He pointed out that the Commonwealth Secretariat provided technical assistance to the Ministry of Energy and Business to engage the consultant. The energy local content project’s consultancy is being funded by the India-UN Development Partnership Fund.

The Barbados Energy Local Content Project aims at leveraging the knowledge, skills, technologies, supply chain expansion, creation of local employment, and increasing the local ownership and control, to facilitate the opening up of new areas of economic activity through economic diversity and investment in the sector.

sharon.austingill-moore@barbados.gov.bb

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