AS two contracts for oil blocks following Guyana’s first bid round have been inked, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, has said that the government is hopeful to ink a contract with the Guyanese-women-led company that secured oil blocks.

The minister made this known while speaking to members of the press on the sidelines of the signing of the second contract earlier this week.

He told reporters that the team is currently in negotiation with the company, Sispro Inc, which was among four companies that secured oil blocks.

“The team is in negotiation with Sispro, so I’m still hopeful, I’m always hopeful, I’m always positive,” he said about the possibility of inking an agreement soon.

Dr. Bharrat went on to add, “Sispro, as we would have mentioned over and over, is a company that we want to work with, so that is why I’m even more hopeful that they can reach a position with their operator and that we can sign as soon as possible.

Against this backdrop, he noted that if that agreement can be signed before the end of this year, the government would be even more excited.

When asked what is holding up this process, he disclosed that the company needs an operator with the credentials and balance sheet to execute the work programme.

Earlier this year, Minister Bharrat noted that he was proud that a Guyanese company, especially a women-led company was getting involved in the oil and gas sector.

Further to this, the Production Sharing Agreements (PSA) that have been signed and the others expected to be signed are under the government’s new fiscal regime. The agreements include a 10 per cent royalty rate, a 10 per cent corporate tax, and a reduced cost recovery ceiling, while profit sharing remains an even 50/50 split between the government and contractors.

These terms differ from the widely criticised Stabroek Block PSA.