Companies say award of Canje oil block licence was above board

By Stabroek News On In Guyana News |
JHI, Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas Inc (MOGI) and ExxonMobil, which is Block Operator, have participating interests in the Canje Block. In February last year, French oil major Total announced that it had bought a 35% working interest in the Canje Block, in an agreement it signed with both JHI and MOGI. The two companies, it said, will retain a shared 30% interest alongside ExxonMobil.
JHI, Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas Inc (MOGI) and ExxonMobil, which is Block Operator, have participating interests in the Canje Block. In February last year, French oil major Total announced that it had bought a 35% working interest in the Canje Block, in an agreement it signed with both JHI and MOGI. The two companies, it said, will retain a shared 30% interest alongside ExxonMobil.

JHI Associates Inc. (JHI) and Mid Atlantic Oil & Gas Inc. (MOGI), which were awarded the exploration licence for the Canje Block, offshore Guyana, yesterday said the process was proper, while noting that there were no oil discoveries prior.

The companies’ declaration comes in wake of the recently announced investigation being conducted by the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA).

“Neither JHI nor MOGI has received any request for information, and neither company has been notified of any pending investigations into the award of the licence for the Canje Block. Both companies welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter with duly authorised agencies of the Government of Guyana at any time,” the companies said in a joint statement.

The companies broke their silence just shy of a week after this newspaper reported that SARA began investigating the issuance of about 20 oil exploration licences a year ago.