Govt reveals names of six companies to get new oil blocks
Feb 05, 2025
…three days after Minister told Parliament he could not disclose information
Kaieteur News- After informing the National Assembly on Friday that the companies to be awarded oil blocks will be announced at a later date, the Ministry of Natural Resources on Monday disclosed the companies, following a media report by an online publication.
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat
News Source reported that the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat had declared earlier that Government has “nothing to hide” with regard to the management of the Petroleum Sector, but declined to provide the Parliamentary Committee of Supply with the names of the four companies that are expected to sign the new Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for four of the country’s lucrative offshore oil blocks.
In response, the Ministry deemed the report “very mischievous” as it maintained that the oil blocks auction has been transparent, with ongoing public engagement.
The Ministry noted, “The most substantially responsive bidders have been publicly announced, and the process is currently in its final stages, with the awardees expected to be formalised soon.”
To this end, it said that upon the completion of the regulatory process, a press event will be held to mark the signing of the PSAs, ensuring that the public remains informed throughout the process.
In the meantime, it shared the list of companies and blocks for which PSAs are expected to be signed this year.
“These include blocks S4 – TotalEnergies, Qatar Energy, and Petronas; S5 – International Group Investment Inc.; S7 – Cybele Energy; and S10 – International Group Investment Inc,” the Ministry said in its statement.
On Day One of the Consideration of Estimates for Budget 2025, Minister Bharrat explained that the four PSAs to be signed this year relates to the recent bid round.
He was keen to point out that while four oil contracts are to be signed, this does not mean that different deals will be approved. According to him, the fiscal terms of the agreements will be the same.
When asked by Opposition Parliamentarian, David Patterson, to provide the House with the list of companies to be awarded oil blocks, Bharrat responded that this will be done later “for obvious reasons.”
“We will announce the four blocks that will be awarded (to) the companies at a later date and for obvious reasons too,” he said.
In December 2022, President Irfaan Ali launched the country’s inaugural bid round for 14 offshore oil blocks.
Bids were later opened on September 10, 2023 where it was disclosed that six companies submitted bids for eight of the blocks.
Kaieteur News had reported that eleven of the oil blocks on auction are located in the shallow area and three are in the deepwater zone. Importantly, each area is governed by separate PSAs. They range between 1000 square kilometres to 3000 square kilometres with the majority of them being close to 2000 square kilometres.
The oil companies will be expected to pay a 10 percent royalty and a 10 percent corporate tax to the government of Guyana. In the meantime, the cost recovery will be capped at 65 percent in a given year, while profits will be shared 50/50 between the parties.
According to government, it recognises the significant public interest in this sector and remains committed to ensuring that the development of the oil and gas industry is conducted in a manner that is both transparent and beneficial to the country as a whole.
(Govt reveals names of six companies to get new oil blocks)
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