-VP Jagdeo says

VICE PRESIDENT, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, said negotiations with companies recently awarded oil blocks offshore Guyana are still in progress.

After the international licensing round in 2022, six different companies and groups secured eight oil blocks in deep and shallow waters in October. The initial step of formally notifying and communicating with the companies about the negotiations has been completed by the government.

At a press conference on Thursday last, Dr Jagdeo responded to queries as to whether the government has completed negotiations which it was aiming to wrap up before year end.

“No, they have not been completed,” he said in response.

Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, during a recent press conference, said that the government hopes that negotiations will go well, and all the companies could be awarded the blocks, provided that they are in a position to pay the signing bonus.

There is a minimum of US$10 million for the exploration licence for shallow-water blocks, while in the deep-water blocks, there is a minimum of US$20 million for the exploration licence.

Guyanese-owned company, Sispro Inc. was awarded oil blocks S3 and D2; TotalEnergies EP Guyana B.V. in consortium with Qatar Energy International E&P LLC and Petronas E&P Overseas SDN BHD was awarded S4. Additionally, S5 was awarded to International Group Investment Inc.

Liberty Petroleum Corporation and Cybele Energy Limited got the S7 block while ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, Hess New Ventures Exploration Limited and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited were awarded S8.

The S10 block was awarded to International Group Investment Inc. and Delcorp Incorporated, while Watad Energy and Communications Ltd and Arabian Drilling Company won D1.

The ‘S’ denotes blocks in shallow water, while ‘D’ signifies blocks in deep water. There were 11 shallow water and three deepwater blocks available.

Minister Bharrat had said that the companies have submitted their work programmes, but further discussions are needed to determine the resources and strategies for programme execution.

Despite optimism about the negotiations, the Minister cautioned that companies unable to effectively execute their work programmes would face “stiff penalties.”

Guyana’s economy has undergone a radical transformation after ExxonMobil Corp.’s 2015 discovery of massive tranches of oil offshore.

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.

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.