Two Guyanese companies have secured contracts to construct handrails for the US$6.8 billion Hammerhead Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, though the limited scope of the work has drawn sharp criticism from observers. One of the two firms is reportedly a subsidiary of a Japanese company. Critics argue the contracts highlight the marginal role local businesses continue to play in Guyana’s rapidly expanding oil and gas sector, with Guyanese companies largely confined to minor, low-value work on massive multi-billion-dollar projects. The Hammerhead FPSO represents one of the most significant offshore developments in the country’s emerging petroleum industry, making the nature of local participation a point of growing concern. Observers say the situation underscores a broader pattern in which Guyanese businesses and citizens see limited economic benefit from the country’s oil wealth, despite repeated government commitments to strengthen local content participation in the sector.

Source: https://kaieteurnewsonline.com/2026/03/26/guyanese-companies-scrape-handrail-contracts-for-us6-8b-oil-ship/