— over US$100M could be earned from next sale

GUYANA has raked in over US$108 million (approximately G$22B) from the latest sale of its share of crude oil, which is produced offshore by ExxonMobil.
The country was able to rake in this amount because of the soaring prices of oil on the world market caused by chain supply issues created by COVID-19 and, more recently, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

With the latest returns, the country’s total revenue in its Natural Resource Fund (NRF) moved to US$753,254,499, according to statistics from the Bank of Guyana.
The fund is expected to get another significant boost very soon, as the country is set to earn over US$100 million from its next sale of oil given the current Brent price – the benchmark Guyana uses to sell its crude.

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, had said recently.