— 34 EOIs submitted; ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, BP amongst those interested

DESPITE the global pandemic and uncertain oil prices, 34 large oil traders from around the world submitted Expressions of Interest (EOIs) to market Guyana’s crude and 19 have been shortlisted by the Department of Energy (DE).

On Friday, the DE reported that it intends to hire an Oil Marketing / Trading Company in 2020 and the 19 shortlisted will now move on to phase two of the procurement processes.

WELL-KNOWN COMPANIES

Based on geographical region, there were four countries which placed tenders from North America, all hailing from the United States of America. They included ExxonMobil, already involved in oil production offshore Guyana; BP Products North America Inc., a well-known oil major; Hartree Partners LLP, a global merchant commodities firm; and Glencore Limited, a major producer and marketer of commodities.

Showing interest from Europe are four companies registered in Switzerland. They include Mercuria Energy Trading SA; Total Oil Trading SA; Lukoil Oil Company / Litasco SA and Vitol SA. Switzerland has no domestic oil production and is entirely dependent upon crude oil and oil products imports.

Meanwhile, from the region, there are also Petrobras Global Trading BV from the Netherlands; BB Energy Trading Limited from the UK and Equinor ASA from Norway, the latter country known as one of the world’s largest exporters of oil. Shortlisted too are Petraco Oil Company Limited from Guernsey, located in the Channel Islands off the Normandy coast of France and Sinochem International Oil (London) Company Limited, registered both in the UK and China.

Showing interest from South and Latin America are the Shell Western Supply and Trading Ltd. which registered in the Bahamas and was selected to buy Guyana’s first three lifts of crude. It is amongst one of the first set of companies which submitted EOIs.

There is also Mercantile and Maritime (IMMS Ltd.) as registered in Belize and Cyprus and PetroChina International (Brazil) Trading Limited, registered in neighbouring Brazil. Hailing from the region of Asia are China Offshore Oil (Singapore) International Pte Ltd. (CNOOC) and Freepoint Commodities registered in Singapore as well as Cathay Petroleum International Limited, registered in Hong Kong.

MORE PHASES TO COME

The EOIs were sent to the Chairman of National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) specifically for the provision of ‘Marketing Services for the Cooperative Republic of Guyana’s Oil Entitlement from the Liza Destiny FPSO Vessel’.

The Request for Expressions of Interest was an open invitation with no limit to bidders invited, at the initial stage. However, the DE had made it clear that it had planned to qualify and shortlist no more than 20 firms which will be then invited to submit Technical and Financial Proposals.

“A five-member Evaluation Committee was formed tasked with producing a Shortlist of Companies, after a detailed check of each firm’s Expression of Interest for general and technical data in relation to qualifications and experience pertinent to the assignment at hand, and as was required to be submitted in the request for Expression of Interest,” the DE stated on Friday.

“This activity has now been completed successfully and the Shortlist of Companies, 19 in total, will progress to the next phase of the procurement process exclusively, and, at the same time, receive the Request for Proposal (RFP).”

The companies shortlisted, after receiving the RFP, will be
notified of the nomination procedures as per the Crude Lifting
Agreement of the Lisa Destiny FPSO. The DE has stated that it is looking forward to successfully completing this next phase and appointing a marketing partner.