Dr. Jagdeo says

SATISFIED with how the oil auction went, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said that the government is expecting the evaluation to be done in early October, and the agreement will be concluded before the end of the year.
During a press conference at Freedom House, he said: “We are anticipating in early October to finish the evaluation, and then to move on to conclude the agreement before the end of the year.”
Dr. Jagdeo said that Guyana received 14 offers from six bidders. Noting that the 14 offers received were for eight of the oil blocks, he said that this shows that some of them are very competitive.
The General Secretary related: “So, let me tell you, we’re very pleased with the offers that we’ve had from the bid round, which was a few days ago.”
According to Dr. Jagdeo, the blocks that did not get any bids were D3, S1, S2, S6, S9 and S11, while blocks D1, D2, S3, S4, S5, S7, S8 and S10 received bids.
“Given the overwhelming success here, and the discovery rates, a lot of these bidders are excited about the prospects as we are,” the PPP General Secretary said.
Dr. Jagdeo related that the improved provisions provided by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government have also enhanced the atmosphere and prospects, as opposed to if the auction was conducted under the previous conditions.
President Dr. Irfaan Ali, during a discussion at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C., said that given the current climate of the market, he is pleased with the number of bids the country has received.
Six companies: 1. ExxonMobil, which already has the giant Stabroek Block; 2. SISPRO INC (Guyana), headed by Guyanese businesswomen; 3. Total Energies EP Guyana BV; Qatar Energy International E&P LLC; Petronas E&P Overseas Ventures SDN BHD (Malaysia), 4. Delcorp Inc Guyana and Watad Energy and Arabian Drillers of Saudi Arabia, 5. Liberty Petroleum Corporation of the US and Ghana-based Cybele Energy Limited; and 6. International Group Investment Inc. and Montego Energy SA (London) submitted bids.
Dr. Ali had said that while the country is open to government-to-government partnerships in the sector, it is imperative that the process is done in an open and transparent manner first.
“We have been able, as a newcomer in this business, to demonstrate great transparency and openness in putting out the blocks for public option, and what we have seen is a number of major companies,” the President said.
The country had planned to open its auction in May of this year, however, this was extended to September to allow it to critically examine the regulatory framework, which included a new production-sharing agreement, which sees it benefitting more.
Still, the new contract will ensure Guyana “remains one of the most competitive countries in the world even with these changes.
Guyana’s economy has undergone a radical transformation after ExxonMobil Corp.’s 2015 discovery of massive tranches of offshore oil.
From producing no crude at all, Guyana produces an average of some 400,000 barrels of oil per day. This is expected to increase to 600,000 barrels per day by 2024.
At present, Guyana’s total recoverable oil reserves stand at more than 11 billion barrels of oil, with crude oil reserves ranking at number 17 in the world and third in Latin America and the Caribbean.