Following concerns raised about its shortage of details on the requirements for prospective marketers for its oil, government yesterday released the criteria and also announced that the contracted period would be for one year.
The contracted period will begin sometime this year after the evaluation of the bids is completed as the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board does not give the specific timeframes for evaluation of contracts, given the complexities of each.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Ministry of Natural Resources outlined some of the criteria for prospective bidders, as per the bidding document.
Among other things, it said, marketers would be responsible for providing all functions of marketing; assessing regional and global demand centres; selecting customers and making appropriate transportation arrangements; and providing support and guidance to the client – in this case, the Government of Guyana – in all operating and back-office responsibilities of managing these crude sales and each individual lifting whilst facilitating timely and cost-efficient crude oil operations.
It added that marketers would also be responsible for supporting the client in the continued introduction of the grade to multiple geographies and refinery systems and providing benchmark performance comparisons of prices paid for the client’s crude; working closely with the client in understanding the behaviour and yields of the Liza blend and how these affect pricing differentials; supporting the client with market information requests related to the demand, supply, pricing and trade in the oil market and crude oil trading capacity; and buttressing the client in understanding and advocating for any operational considerations that may affect the pricing of crude.
Stabroek News on Wednesday reported that government announced that it is looking for marketers of oil from the Liza 1 and Liza 2 platforms, but for a second time has not released to the public information on the requirements or the specific period the contract would cover.
Unlike in the past where the information was shared on what criteria they should meet, the Ministry of Natural Resources had again asked interested bidders to write its Permanent Secretary seeking whatever clarity is needed for the bids that will be opened on October 11, 2022.
The statement yesterday gave a descriptive portfolio of requirements, and also pointed out that companies must also possess “detailed knowledge, a respected marketing presence and a history in the global crude oil market, and other requirements.”
Specifically, government wants its next marketer to have at least ten (10) years of experience in crude oil marketing and trading –within the last ten (10) years as a company; experience in crude oil trading and marketing volumes by geography over the last five (5) years with verifiable similar services with national oil companies and governments and crude oil trading and marketing volumes of no less than twenty (20) million barrels within the last year.
Companies must also have a signed statement “confirming that the company does not have any director who has been convicted in any country for a criminal offence relating to fraud or any financial impropriety or criminal misrepresentation or falsification of facts relating to any matter or any pending litigation the bidder may or may not have, among other key requirements.”
There has been no marketer for oil share from the Liza Unity, which has been in operation since February of this year, as government had said it would undertake the task itself until it “fleshes out” what would be the regime going forward.
For this country’s oil share from the Liza Destiny FPSO, the contracted marketer had been the Saudi Arabia-based Aramco company and its contract expired on August 31st of this year.
The Government of Guyana has said that it will receive 12 lifts for this year from the 96.3M barrels of oil equivalent expected to be produced from the Stabroek Block.
