Guyana Oil and Gas News

Guyana’s next lift of a million barrels of oil is expected in May, around the same time the Department of Energy (DoE) projects that the 120,000 barrels of oil per day maximum production will be reached, but revenues received would likely be far less than the US$55M for the first lift given the current market conditions.

In a move that appears to have come as no major surprise to the rest of the global oil and gas industry, the US super major ExxonMobil this week announced that it was slashing US$10 billion from its capital 2020 expenditure, in effect reducing spending by 15 per cent.

(Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp said yesterday the start of production at its Payara project in Guyana, its third major development in the world’s newest offshore oil hotspot, could be delayed as the company scales back spending due to the crude price crash.

ExxonMobil says that it has put stringent novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) safety measures in place for workers heading to and on its vessels in the offshore Stabroek Block, even as it continues to monitor global low oil prices and the possible effects on the company.

The royalty payment for January from the Liza-1 well operations in the offshore Stabroek Block will see Guyana getting around US$1.2 million as ExxonMobil and its partners lifted some 1,025,305 barrels of crude, according to the Ministry of Finance’s calculations.

The Department of Energy (DE) has seen a flurry of questions since it advertised a request for expressions of interest (EOIs) for a marketer for Guyana’s oil last month and the agency has announced that it had for a second time extended the deadline for submissions.

The plummeting oil prices worldwide would see Guyana getting less than the expected US$300 million for this year but if the APNU+AFC government had negotiated for better royalties it would have cushioned the lost sums, says Dr Jan Mangal, the former Petroleum Advisor to President David Granger.

The Guyana Oil Company (Guyoil) has reduced the cost of fuel at the pumps but it is not enough to reflect the continuous decline of global oil prices says Change Guyana presidential candidate, Robert Badal, who is also calling on the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) to give reductions to customers.

Taking precautionary measures in light of the global spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), ExxonMobil has suspended construction of its local headquarters at Ogle, East Coast Demerara for now.

HOUSTON,  (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp is notifying contractors and vendors of planned near-term cuts in capital and operating expenses over a coronavirus pandemic, and will announce the plans once they are final, company spokesman Jeremy Eikenberry said yesterday.

Tullow has no immediate plans to continue drilling for oil here this year as it is still to further assess the results from three wells drilled last year, which the company has also written off.

The price per barrel of Guyana’s oil will be calculated using the Brent crude benchmark after the bill of lading for the cargo is issued and how information on the sales will be released is currently being determined, Director of the Department of Energy (DE) Dr Mark Bynoe says.

Guyana has been paid US$55 million for its first cargo of crude oil sold in February and the country will receive royalties from production by ExxonMobil in its Liza-1 field on the offshore Stabroek Block next month.

ExxonMobil is continuing to monitor the possible implications of the post-elections situation and the global coronavirus pandemic on its operations in Guyana.

HOUSTON, (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil yesterday said it will make “significant” cuts to spending in the face of the unprecedented slide in oil prices due to the global coronavirus outbreak, which sent its shares to a 17-year low.

In light of Guyana’s recent general elections, a consortium of more than 100 environmental and human rights organisations and eminent persons from around the world have issued a statement calling on ExxonMobil and other oil companies to declare “unequivocally” that they will only conduct business with a lawfully installed government.

The Department of Energy (DE) has still not disclosed how much Guyana was paid per barrel (BBL) from its first crude oil cargo in February, while payment from royalty or sales has not been collected as yet. 

German non-profit environmental and human rights organisation Urgewald has criticised the World Bank’s decision to fund technical assistance for Guyana’s preparation for the oil and gas sector using a contractor whose clientele includes United States oil major ExxonMobil, the United Kingdom’s Guardian newspaper has reported.

From competence to controversy “Do You See Anything To Laugh About?”

Even as it awaits final approval for Payara, its third oil well development, ExxonMobil is pressing ahead with its fourth oil well project offshore at Hammerhead-1 as it aims to ramp up production.