Guyana Oil and Gas News

The Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) plans to use any influence it gains at the March 2020 elections to force a renegotiation oil production contracts and to push for environmental protection initiatives.

The need for trained, local protected-species observers to monitor oil and gas activity on marine life was among the calls made when ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd (EEPGL), held the last of required stakeholder meetings for its Payara project yesterday.

Having already soaked up a slew of international criticism over what is characterised as its healthy contribution to oil-related climate degradation, ExxonMobil, one of the world’s most powerful energy giants, was on Wednesday October 30, compelled to endure the sight and sounds of one of its most high-profile former bosses conceding that its longstanding posture notwithstanding, the company knew the climate change was not just a reality but that it was a real issue.  In a presentation in a New York courtroom where the company’s former Chief Executive Officer and for a brief period US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, took the witness stand to testify in a securities fraud trial that asserts that ExxonMobil knew for years that global warming was a significant threat, Tillerson declared that climate change was a real issue that was likely to “live with us for evermore.”

So, the first oil to be extracted from Guyana’s bountiful wells in the Stabroek Block will be divvied up between ExxonMobil and its two partners Hess and CNOOC.

ExxonMobil will take the first three liftings of crude oil from the country’s huge offshore deposits and Guyana will receive its share in its ground-breaking petroleum endeavour beginning around March next year.

The procurement process for a firm to audit the more than US$960 million ExxonMobil said it racked up in pre-contract costs here is nearly completed, Director of the Department of Energy Dr Mark Bynoe says.

Guyana has joined the International Offshore Petroleum Environment Regulators (IOPER), an international regulators group whose help it will be seeking as it accelerates preparations for crucial oversight of the oil and gas sector as the expected start of production has been moved to next month. 

With Guyana’s first oil production projected for next month, ExxonMobil yesterday announced that it will begin drilling three additional exploration wells in the Stabroek Block in the coming months, even as the company boasted of its success here during its third quarter earnings call.

As more locals tap into benefits from the emerging oil and gas sector, John Fernandes Limited has partnered with industrial services firm, the Baker Hughes Company (BHC) to provide onshore support services here.

The timetable for production of first oil has been moved up to December this year, earlier than the previously announced first quarter of 2020, ExxonMobil’s partner in the Stabroek Block, Hess, yesterday announced.

NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – Former Exxon Mobil Corp Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson yesterday denied misleading investors about how the oil major measured potential costs of climate change, as he testified in a closely watched civil lawsuit brought by New York’s attorney general.

The Transparency Institute Guyana Inc (TIGI) is suggesting that international laws could protect Guyana from the most egregious provisions of the oil agreement with an ExxonMobil subsidiary since by contravening domestic law it violates several of the guidelines of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The current Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) this country has with an ExxonMobil subsidiary will not be renegotiated under a Robert Badal-led government as the Change Guyana Party (CGP) presidential candidate believes that the point at which it was struck was a key factor. 

Residents and key stakeholders of Region One were told that even though Guyana is not producing oil as yet, it is still a significant player on the world market. 

The organiser of the second Guyana International Petroleum Exhibition (GIPEX) yesterday stated that it is registered here and is working with the local private sector to ensure the event bring maximum benefits for Guyanese and the country.

Dear Editor, At this time, it is my opinion that the oil industry in Guyana will come to an end within a relatively short time frame.

(Reuters) – A lawyer for New York’s attorney general yesterday told a state judge Exxon Mobil Corp used two sets of books to hide the true cost of climate change regulations from investors, while an attorney for the oil major assailed the claims as false and politically motivated.

There is a belief in some quarters that the present universal basic income (UBI) debate is being motivated by the wish to gain political popularity and win votes at the 2020 elections and such is the nature of democratic politics.

The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has released a detailed response to the third draft of Guyana’s Local Content Policy (LCP) for the oil and gas sector in which they argue that a Local Content Dialogue Commission (LCDC) should be established as the formal mechanism for oversight of the policy.

The Guyana International Petroleum Exhibition (GIPEX), which is scheduled to host its second expo here next month, says no taxpayers’ money will be used for the event and that rates for participating companies which are 100% Guyanese are subsidized.