No direct sale of Guyana’s crude to India has been discussed– Jagdeo
Nov 23, 2024
One of the FPSOs working offshore Guyana
Kaieteur News- Guyana remains open to a potential future deal for the sale of its crude to India if it proves beneficial, but no such discussions are currently on the table. This was clarified by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo during a press conference on Thursday at Freedom House, Georgetown.
“So [we] have not discussed any element of direct transaction for the sale of our crude to India,” Jagdeo said.
Reports have suggested that India is interested in securing two million lifts of crude for its large carriers. However, Guyana’s current daily oil production, averages 650,000 barrels from three projects – Liza Phase 1, Liza Phase 2 and Payara. The ExxonMobil-led consortium has plans in place to grow production capacity to more than 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of 2027, when they anticipate having all six projects up and running offshore. This will include the addition of the Yellowtail, Uaru and Whiptail projects.
When asked if India’s request could be accommodated with increased production, Jagdeo reiterated that no direct sale to India is under consideration at this time.
“We have not discussed any element of a direct sale to India at this stage because our crude for the next year … we have people who will market our crude, we just went through a tender and two companies won the right to market out crude for the next year, so there is none of that,” the Vice President said.
Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo (sale of Guyana’s crude)
Jagdeo also recounted previous discussions with Indian companies, noting their logistical challenges due to high freight costs, which necessitate large quantities of crude for economic viability. He explained, “So those points were made earlier too but I guess they still remain relevant but there was no specific discussion on this trip about any of those but we are looking forward to work with India…there will be a time maybe if there is an oversupply of the market, we may have to go to long term contracts but the time is not now.”
The Vice President emphasised that any future deal would need to make sense for both parties. “We don’t have a problem with that but there is nothing that we have worked on that would result in any sale of crude in the next year or so because we have already have people to market our crude,” Jagdeo said.
He further highlighted India’s expertise in areas like renewable energy and solar power, noting collaboration opportunities. Jagdeo said too, “On the fertilizer plant they are doing some studies for us to use the gas for us to build a fertilizer plant so in the whole hydrocarbon sector there are lots of areas that we can utilize Indian skills, Indian technology and also Indian investments.”
(No direct sale of Guyana’s crude to India has been discussed– Jagdeo)
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