Government is not disappointed that only six companies bid for eight of the fourteen available oil blocks since those participating were global oil majors, in addition to the fact that there is still room for government-to- government negotiations for the many countries that had expressed interest, President Irfaan Ali says.
And given the current global investment climate for petroleum projects where other countries have not had the feedback they desired, Guyana was grateful for the bids placed and will try to maximise the potential opportunities to develop its resources, the President reasoned.
“First of all, it is not a disappointment at all. This market, let us be very open and factual about this, we went out to auction at a time when major economies in the world are basically saying to oil producers, we are not going to finance you. You are going to a market where capital is an issue. Many countries went to this same market and got no response for their auction,” the President said as he fielded questions at a forum organised by the Washington DC-based Inter-American Dialogue (IAD) where he discussed his administration’s views on opportunities and challenges in US-Guyana relations.