President Mohamed Irfaan Ali has launched Guyana’s competitive bid round for 14 offshore oil blocks, comprised of 11 shallow-water blocks and three ultradeepwater blocks.
pwater blocks. President Ali opened the bid round today, December 9, 2022. The bid round is expected to be open for four months and will close on April 14, 2023.
It is anticipated that after the bid round closes, evaluations of the proposals will take place and after negotiations, awards of blocks are expected in Q2 2023.
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, is expected to publish a notice in the Official Gazette in keeping with the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act.
Guyana has seen extraordinary success with offshore discoveries in the last five years. The country continues to grow and expand its opportunities to increase production and the inflow of investment into the energy industry and other sectors. The largest upstream Guyana to move on gas to power regional player is ExxonMobil, who produces more than 340,000 barrels of oil per day from two FPSOs. This production is expected to ramp up as more developments come onstream. The company has had significant success to date in Guyana and indicates that additional FPSOs are already in development for future projects.
At the launch of the bid round, President Ali said, “We are hoping that there will be maximum participation and that Guyana would be part of a partnership that creates greater benefit and greater wins for our country and our people.”
In addition, he said that the improved fiscal terms provide greater balance of the share of revenue between the government and contractor, while maintaining Guyana’s competitive edge in the region.