TotalEnergies consortium only offshore bidder with green light
The partnership of TotalEnergies, Qatar Energy, and Malaysia’s Petronas, remains the only oil blocks auction bidder that has been given Cabinet’s green light to proceed to a contract as the five other bidders are reviewing the legal agreement or seeking partnership buy-ins,” Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday said.
“That is cleared with Cabinet already and is moving forward… the only one that went to Cabinet thus far,” Jagdeo said.
Regarding the others, when asked yesterday for an update on the process, he surmised, “Most of the others are still in discussion on the PSA [Production Sharing Agreement] because a lot of them have either issues with the PSA, [in terms of] the legal terms… not the fiscal terms… not the other obligations, they’re saying ,it’s too rigid. We’re having discussions. Some are still looking for partners and operators,” he said when asked yesterday for an update on the process …so unless those issues are dealt with beforehand, in the negotiations, it’s not going to go to Cabinet to make the final [decision].”
Earlier this month, he had told this newspaper that no contract has been entered into as yet from the 2022 oil blocks auction but the consortium of Qatar Energy, TotalEnergies, and Malaysian state-owned oil firm, Petronas, has gone the furthest in current negotiations with the government.
“It is only one that has reached this stage, at this point and time,” Jagdeo had said, as he explained that the consortium’s due diligence screening process was completed and the stage was now set to enter into discussions for a petroleum agreement.
He pointed out that this information is already public. “We had awarded the blocks already and you know to whom.” He reminded of previous statements where he said that the due diligence process would have to be completed for all the awardees and then the “next stage was to enter the negotiations and then complete.”
The Qatar Energy consortium has signalled to the government that “they are ready to move forward to the conclusion.”
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, echoed the Vice President as he too reminded that “all are at the negotiation stage” still.
Last October, government announced the recipients of oil block awards for the country’s deep and shallow-water blocks, which were auctioned during the 2022 Licensing Round.
The successful companies were Sispro Inc. (Guyana), awarded S3 Block; Total Energies EP Guyana BV, Qatar Energy International E&P LLC, Petronas E&P Overseas Ventures SDN BHD (Malaysia), awarded S4 Block; International Group Investment Inc., awarded S5 Block; Liberty Petroleum Corporation of the US and Ghana-based Cybele Energy Limited awarded S7 Block; Exxon/Hess/ CNOOC awarded S8 Block; International Group Investment Inc, awarded S10 Block; Delcorp Inc Guyana, comprising Watad Energy and Communications Limited & Arabian Drillers of Saudi Arabia awarded D1; and Sispro Inc (Guyana) awarded D2.
The 2022 Licensing Round, Guyana’s first-ever auction, was initially announced in December 2022 by President Irfaan Ali. After several extensions and updates to the fiscal framework, the auction concluded with six bidders submitting 14 offers for eight of the 14 oil blocks offshore Guyana.
Jagdeo had explained in October of last year that if one of the larger companies agreed to the draft Production Sharing Agreement, this country’s government will be ready to collect the money and deposit it, but if another company wanted time to finalise plans, they will be given that scope. “We want to do a good job. Time is not the issue here; it is doing a good job. Ensuring that the due diligence is done, and getting a proper contract signed. We are not running a sprint here,” he had said, adding, “so if it takes one month in some cases and three in another, providing a good job is done…