Guyana Oil and Gas News

Introduction Over this week’s and the column to follow I shall provide a summary overview of ExxonMobil’s two consortium partners in crude oil and gas exploration, appraisal and production in Guyana, largely confined so far to the bountiful Stabroek block.  

Introduction As promised last week, today’s column and the next two are devoted to an overdue  discussion of the notion of “working interest” as this is freely applied when referring to the grouping or consortium of the three oil companies leading the exploration and production of Guyana’s hydrocarbons in the prolific Stabroek Block.

Introduction President Irfaan Ali was visibly upset by the disclosure in the Stabroek News of Guyana’s suspension from the Norway-based Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

Environmentalist Simone Mangal-Joly has written to the Executive Director of the EPA, Kemraj Parsram urging him to cease and desist from conducting meetings on ExxonMobil’s proposed fifth oil platform until a certified Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is  provided.

Introduction In today’s column I wrap-up my revisit of previous calls to build an oil refinery; whether 1] state-owned and or operated 2] as a Joint Venture, JV, or 3] privately owned and operated.

Giving an overview of the Wales Gas to Shore Project, the government yesterday emphasised profitability while announcing that $400 million has been set aside for land compensation and that ExxonMobil will be repaid US$55 million per annum for 20 years from cost oil, for its US$1.1 billion infrastructure input.

Currently producing a total of 380,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) from the Liza Destiny and Lisa Unity FPSOs in the Stabroek Block, ExxonMobil plans to optimise operations and further ramp up production to 400,000 bpd, some 60,000 bpd more than originally planned, the  company’s Vice President (Upstream), Liam Mallon, yesterday announced.

Introduction               For the purposes of today’s column, I shall be revisiting my much earlier evaluation of development analysis and policy, along with my assessment of concrete proposals and studies by the Authorities aimed at evaluating the need for constructing a state-run or joint venture, JV, oil refinery that is designed to contribute value added to Guyana’s crude oil exportation.

(Reuters) -Exxon Mobil Corp said on Thursday it is merging some business units as part of an effort to cut annual costs by $9 billion by 2023 from 2019 levels.

Local content benefits from the US$ multimillion facility at Houston were yesterday underscored by both the Guyana Shore Base Inc (GYSBI) and President Irfaan Ali, as the company commissioned additional berthing facilities pegged at US$25 million.

With US$30 billion already invested in the production of oil and gas, President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge, stated that it would be “very destructive” to investor confidence for Esso Exploration & Production Guyana Limited to renegotiate the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA).

As the opposition awaits formal answers through Parliament on the funding of ExxonMobil’s local headquarters at Ogle, East Coast Demerara, the company’s Country Manager Alistair Routledge yesterday said that the approximately US$160 million project will be recovered from cost oil.

ExxonMobil will be selling the 50 million cubic feet of gas per day it brings onshore to either the government or the private sector company that will distribute the power at the Wales gas-to-shore plant, only to recover its capital for the pipeline infrastructure, Country Manager Alistair Routledge yesterday said.

As ExxonMobil forges ahead with the construction of its headquarters at Ogle on the East Coast of Demerara and with no publicly known price tag on the project or if any monies would be recovered from cost oil for it, Opposition Parliamentarian Ganesh Mahipaul has moved to the National Assembly for answers he says are owed to this country.

ExxonMobil on Tuesday declared a US$56 billion net profit for 2022 as Guyana continues to feature as its premium investment and the company boasted of its excellent relationship with the government here and it expects to bring its third oil platform  earlier than anticipated.

Introduction As I advanced last week, clearly my proposal for the authorities to establish a national oil company, NOC, based on NRGI precepts, does not ipso facto constitute a recommendation favouring the creation of a state-owned and or joint venture, JV, oil refinery. 

Guyana is in talks with Qatar, Britain, the United Arab Emirates and India on the possibility of directly allocating offshore blocks for oil and gas exploration in parallel with a bidding round this year, President Irfaan Ali said on Monday in Trinidad, according to Reuters.

The United States Embassy here says it continues to encourage  partnerships between businesses in both countries and recommends due diligence in the selection process.

Introduction In last week ‘s column I had referenced the circumstance whereby, following sporadic social media and press reports ascribing to the Authorities an intent to build modular oil refineries, I have been encouraged by readers to pursue two  separate but linked tasks.

The government estimates that the oil and gas sector expanded by 124.8 percent last year and should continue on this path in 2023 with the addition of the Prosperity Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) oil platform.