GNBS to use $54M to boost testing capacity for oil and gas, other sectors

-police also to benefit from expanded calibration services

-rice sector to get weighbridge scales

-vendors to access mobile certification unit

Fifty-four million dollars have been allocated to the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) to improve its testing capabilities in the oil and gas sector.  

Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Hon. Oneidge Walrond said with the passage of the Budget 2021, the Bureau can now procure the necessary equipment to execute this function.  

The Bureau will soon begin testing crude oil in four parameters: basic sediment, water content, sulphur and viscosity. It would also acquire the capability to test heavy fuel oil, medium oils such as kerosene, gasoline and diesel, and light oils such as aviation gas. 

“The GNBS is now going to have the capacity to do this crude oil testing right at home. Before, foreign companies would have had to outsource this,” Minister Walrond told DPI. 

This investment is in preparation for the growing need for this service with the impending arrival of the Liza Unity Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel. The Bureau will monitor the measurements and certify crude oil on the Liza Unity and the Liza Destiny FPSOs. 

Further, in keeping with the Government’s goal to ensure a diversified economy, focus continues to be placed on tourism, small business, agriculture and other sectors. 

To this end, the GNBS is acquiring another test truck to verify weighbridge scales (truck scales) used in the rice and sugar industries. The current test truck will be stationed in Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region Two), where there is a significant expansion in rice production. That truck will allow for easy verification and monitoring of the rice mills’ weighing processes to ensure transparency. 

“The GNBS no less is going to be able to facilitate the rice industry. We are going to decentralise the access to the weights and support to the rice industry that they didn’t necessarily have before in terms of testing, moisture levels. 

This is all for export, and this is to help our agriculture products to be more competitive, so the GNBS is going to be doing more of those testing,” Minister Walrond said added. 

She said the equipment would allow Guyana to meet specific export standards. 

“We didn’t necessarily have the capabilities to test for those standards, to meet those standards because there was no test. So, the GNBS is increasing capacity for our agricultural products to test to make sure they keep and they are within the international standard for exports.”

The Bureau will also be opening two branches to meet the needs of the outlying regions. The first will be at Bartica, Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region Seven) this month and the other in Mahdia, Potaro-Siparuni (Region Eight) later this year. 

Other plans for 2021 include expanding the Bureau’s scope under which it calibrates measuring instruments to cover pressure, torque, gauges and thermometers. 

The GNBS has also acquired a mobile verification unit to improve the verification of weighing and measuring devices used in commercial trade. The mobile unit will visit markets and other strategic locations to easily allow vendors and shopkeepers to submit their devices for certification. 

Stakeholder training remains a priority for the Bureau. It is currently hosting a wide range of professional courses for local companies looking to implement international standards. These standards include the ISO 9001 Quality Management System Standard and the ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System Standard. 

The GNBS will soon certify locally manufactured fibreglass bathtubs used in hotels and other accommodation establishments in the tourism sector. The tubs will be added to other products (concrete blocks, PVC pipes and gold jewellery) certified by the GNBS under its Product Certification Programme.

The GNBS has also procured equipment to calibrate speed guns and breathalysers used by the Guyana Police Force. Calibration of those devices will start in the third quarter of this year. The GNBS would also continue to provide calibration services for entities using infrared thermometers to test the temperature of people entering their establishments.