By LCN Business Desk
A payment term is working capital a supplier does not have to borrow, and in Guyana's petroleum sector it is written down.
Eleven companies signed five-year local content plans in Georgetown on 19 October 2022 carrying an amendment on when their Guyanese suppliers get paid. Four years later the Secretariat that administers those plans spent part of a supplier forum asking the industry to beat the term.
What exactly did the companies agree to?
Payment within thirty to forty-five days of a correct invoice, as an amendment inside their approved five-year plans.
The Ministry of Natural Resources published the term in its own words: the plans include an amendment that "Guyanese suppliers of the nation's petroleum sector are paid within thirty (30) to forty-five (45) days" upon receipt of the correct invoice.
The clock starts on the correct invoice, not on delivery and not on a conversation. The term sits in an approved plan rather than in a circular, so a supplier disputing payment is citing a document a minister signed.
| Companies whose plans were approved on 19 October 2022 |
|---|
| Cataleya Energy Limited |
| Guyana Shore Base Incorporated |
| International SOS Incorporated |
| Leader Engineering Guyana Incorporated |
| Stena Drilling |
| Sustainable Environmental Solutions |
| Tenaris Guyana |
| G-Boats |
| Weatherford |
| TechnipFMC |
| Seacor Marine LLC |
Source: Ministry of Natural Resources, 21 October 2022. Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat approved the plans; Martin Pertab was then Director of the Local Content Secretariat. Plans for other operators were approved in separate tranches and are not listed here.
What is the Secretariat asking for now?
That operators pay sooner than the window, so a Guyanese firm has working capital rather than a receivable.
Michael Munroe, Director of the Local Content Secretariat, put it to the Guyana Supplier Forum at the Georgetown Marriott on 4 November 2026. He asked operators to pay faster than their plans commit them to, and to give suppliers sight of work before it is tendered. "It's important that you provide an early pipeline as to what upcoming opportunities are on the horizon," he said.
"The responsibility is not solely on the shoulder of the companies," he told the room, and of the partnerships operators strike with Guyanese firms, "these collaborations must be genuine."
At the same forum he said that writing an unbundling requirement into the Act is an active consideration, after suppliers were asked to bid for pest control, sanitation and security in one package.
Can a supplier read the term their buyer signed?
The Act requires an extract of every approved plan to be published, and what an extract contains is set by the same section.
Section 11(5) of the Local Content Act 2021 reads: "The Secretariat shall cause to be published an approved extract of a Local Content Plan on the website of the Ministry responsible for petroleum or on any other media of wide circulation and that publication shall not include any confidential or proprietary information."
The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry asked the government in September for closer monitoring of foreign contractors and better notice of coming work.
What did the term replace?
Waits that Guyanese firms put at up to 90 days before the amendment was written in.
Guyanese outlets reporting the 2022 approvals recorded that local companies had complained of waiting up to 90 days to be paid for goods and services supplied. Against 90 days, the amendment is the difference between financing a buyer for a quarter and financing one for a month.
What Michael Munroe asked the room for on 4 November was speed, not a new rule.
The entities
- Local Content Secretariat administers Guyana's Local Content Act and is in dialogue with operators on listing upcoming opportunities. - Michael Munroe is the Director of the Local Content Secretariat. - Martin Pertab was Director of the Local Content Secretariat when the 2022 plans were approved. - Vickram Bharrat is Guyana's Minister of Natural Resources and approved the plans. - Ministry of Natural Resources published the plans and the payment amendment. - Guyana Supplier Forum was held at the Georgetown Marriott on 4 November 2026. - Local Content Act is the 2021 statute whose section 11(5) requires publication of an approved extract of every plan.
What the title card says
- Headline: eleven oil companies agreed to pay Guyanese suppliers in thirty to forty-five days, and four years on the Secretariat is asking them to pay sooner. - The term: payment within thirty to forty-five days upon receipt of the correct invoice. - Where it lives: an amendment inside approved five-year local content plans. - Date the plans were signed: 19 October 2022, published by the Ministry of Natural Resources on 21 October 2022. - Companies in that tranche: eleven. - Approving minister: Vickram Bharrat, Minister of Natural Resources. - The ask on 4 November 2026: pay sooner than the term, and publish an early pipeline of opportunities. - Statutory publication duty: section 11(5) of the Local Content Act 2021.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do oil companies have to pay a Guyanese supplier?
Thirty to forty-five days upon receipt of the correct invoice, under an amendment carried in their approved five-year local content plans. The Ministry of Natural Resources published that wording on 21 October 2022.
Which companies agreed to it?
The Ministry named eleven whose plans were approved on 19 October 2022: Cataleya Energy, Guyana Shore Base Incorporated, International SOS, Leader Engineering Guyana, Stena Drilling, Sustainable Environmental Solutions, Tenaris Guyana, G-Boats, Weatherford, TechnipFMC and Seacor Marine. Plans for other operators were approved in separate tranches.
What starts the clock?
The correct invoice. The Ministry's wording ties the window to receipt of it.
What did the Secretariat ask for on 4 November 2026?
That operators pay sooner than the agreed window so Guyanese firms hold working capital, and that they give early sight of upcoming opportunities.
Can a supplier see their buyer's plan?
Section 11(5) of the Local Content Act 2021 requires the Secretariat to publish an approved extract of a plan, excluding confidential or proprietary information. The extract itself shows what it carries.