–with returns of over US$100M from Guyana’s latest sale of crude
GUYANA’S latest sale of oil has pushed its revenues in the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) to US$643,981,234, according to the latest statistics from the Bank of Guyana.
Based on information from the Central Bank, the country received G$21,381,305,000 (approximately US$102M) from the sale of its latest share of oil from the offshore operations of ExxonMobil.
Under the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), Guyana receives two per cent royalty and 50 per cent profit oil, which is what remains after the producer recovers its production cost.
It was reported, recently, that the government made its first withdrawal from the NRF.
The government, pursuant to Section 16 of the NRF Act 2021, has since transferred US$200 million (G$41.7 billion) from the NRF to the Consolidated Fund to finance national development priorities.
This transfer, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance, was made in accordance with the strengthened legal architecture of the NRF Act 2021 and follows the publication in the Official Gazette of all petroleum revenues paid into the fund during the period January 1 to March 31 2022.
The NRF Act 2021 which came into operation on January 1, 2022, represents a significant improvement in transparency and accountability and the overall management of the natural resource wealth of Guyana for present and future generations.
It would be recalled, that as part of the Budget 2022 process, parliamentary approval was granted for a total of US$607.6 million to be transferred during the fiscal year 2022.
Oil and gas revenues are being generated from the ExxonMobil operations, offshore Guyana.
As it is now, the company has four sanctioned projects offshore Guyana. Of those, Liza Phase One is producing approximately 130,000 barrels per day, using the Liza Destiny floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, while the Liza Phase Two, which started production in February, is steadily ramping up to its capacity of 220,000 barrels per day, using the Liza Unity FPSO vessel.
The third project, Payara, is expected to produce 220,000 barrels per day; construction of its production vessel, the Prosperity FPSO, is running approximately five months ahead of schedule, with start-up likely before year-end 2023. The fourth project, Yellowtail, is expected to produce 250,000 barrels per day when the One Guyana FPSO comes on stream in 2025.
ExxonMobil is also moving ahead with plans for its fifth development project in the Stabroek Block, Uaru, which is expected to produce up to 250,000 barrels of oil per day.
“These projects will bring huge benefits to Guyana,” President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge, said during a brief interview released by ExxonMobil.
It was reported that returns from the sector are expected to catapult Guyana to the ranks of wealthiest countries in the Western Hemisphere, thereby increasing the government’s fiscal space to invest in initiatives geared at expanding the economy, and improving the overall welfare of citizens.
In order to solidify the foundation of Guyana’s economy and enhance the overall well-being and welfare of every Guyanese, the government is crafting a framework for development that will be sustained through prudent and effective investment of oil funds into education, health, infrastructure and the non-oil sectors.
Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, had said that the intention of the incumbent is to craft a framework for the future which will see more proceeds from the petroleum industry going towards Guyanese.
“… we have to spend the money to build the future, that is why we have made it clear in our manifesto, when we campaigned between 2015 and 2020, that money will be spent on education, health care, infrastructure and assistance to non-oil industries,” the Vice-President told residents of Region Six during a recent Cabinet outreach.
Those are the four areas that will attract the ‘bulk of the resources’ and are part of a broader plan to ensure that Guyana’s economy continues to thrive long after oil resources would have been exhausted.
