–between 2021 and 2022

THE trade of hydrocarbon between Guyana and India increased dramatically between 2021 and 2022, hitting an “all-time high” of US$149 million, according to Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs and Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he mentioned that this is because Indian refiners have begun sourcing crude oil from Guyana.

Puri said he talked about “ways to build on this to further expand and cement our ties to cover other aspects of the energy sector including power plants, infrastructure, and capacity building” with the Minister of Natural Resources of Guyana, Vickram Bharrat.
Puri said that he and minister Bharrat had very fruitful talks about how India will be the oil demand centre in the ensuing decades, accounting for roughly 25 per cent of the growth in global energy demand between 2020 and 2040.

They also talked about the great chances for cooperation between the two nations that such will bring.
On Tuesday, a delegation from Guyana, led by Prime Minister Mark Phillips and Minister Bharrat, arrived in India on a week-long visit intended to enhance the two nations’ multifaceted relationship.

Thus far, they have met with India’s President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, and External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

INDIA WANTS IN
The Deccan Herrald, an Indian daily newspaper, reported recently that Minister Bharrat said that India wants to sign a multi-year oil purchase deal with Guyana and acquire stakes in the South American nation’s exploration areas.

That newspaper reported Minister Bharrat as saying that Guyana will make a decision on the oil purchase deal “at some point in time”.
The Deccan Herrald said that Minister Bharrat said that the cabinet of Guyana would need to approve any such agreement with India. According to the newspaper, India, the third-largest importer, and consumer of oil worldwide, wants to diversify its supplies of crude oil.

It stated that Guyana and India had inked a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) earlier this month to cooperate on energy.
“Bharrat also said Indian companies are interested in picking up stakes in Guyana’s exploration acreage through negotiation rather than a bidding process. Indian companies did not participate in Guyana’s latest oil and gas bidding round,” said the Deccan Herrald.

Additionally, it quoted Minister Bharrat as saying: “Our preference (for offering oil blocks for exploration) will be through bidding, and if there is any interest in any particular block, we are willing to negotiate and enter an agreement.”
As it relates to India acquiring stakes in the prolific Stabroek Block, Minister Bharrat told the publication that Guyana was willing to offer stakes through negotiation only in relinquished areas. According to the publication, Minister Bharrat stated, “We have some relinquished acreage from Stabroek and other blocks so simply that means possibly we will have a bidding round possibly later this year.”

ExxonMobil (Guyana) Limited operates the Stabroek Block and holds 45 per cent interest.
Hess Guyana Exploration Limited holds 30 per cent interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 per cent interest. Three floating production storage and offloading (FPSOs) vessels are deployed in this block.

Over 600,000 barrels per day (b/d) are presently produced from the Stabroek Block projects, exceeding the operator’s estimates.
Building on the discussions during President Dr Irfaan Ali and Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo’s visit to India in January and February 2023, both countries have taken concrete steps by establishing eight Joint Working Groups.

These groups encompass a wide array of domains including agriculture, health, infrastructure development, energy, Ayurveda, technology innovation, defence, and human resources and capacity building. This holistic approach aims to fortify cooperation and leverage each nation’s strengths for mutual gain.
A pivotal aspect of the partnership is Guyana’s expressed interest in procuring defence capabilities from India. This initiative stems from Guyana’s imperative to safeguard its maritime boundaries, exclusive economic zones, and burgeoning oil and gas industry from potential threats, notably illegal fishing activities. India and Guyana have had diplomatic ties since 1965.