Just recently, Energy Department Head, Dr Mark Bynoe indicated that ExxonMobil has relinquished 20 percent of the Canje block which is in keeping with its oil deal with Guyana. There are several other blocks, of which portions will have to be relinquished quite soon too.
But Dr Bynoe says no one should get their hopes up to grab these relinquished portions since there are some key things which have to be put in place first.
According to the government official, the department wants a model Production Sharing Agreement in place as well as the modernisation of Guyana’s petroleum laws.
Dr Bynoe said, “We are not going back to the market with 1986 Petroleum Exploration and Production Act. That Act is silent on mid and downstream activities and it has to be more robust when it comes to decommissioning as well as how it fits into the local content dimension that we are working towards. So that has to be in place before we go out to market.”
Additionally, the Energy Department Head said that moves are apace to hire a firm to complete 2D/3D multi-client survey and those efforts are in the final stage. He said that this is being done so that the department can operate from a position of knowledge when it is time to reallocate the blocks.
Dr Bynoe added, “The multi-client survey will take about 11 months to complete…and when that is done, in addition to all the other things I mentioned, then we will go back to the market.”
Other blocks which will be up for relinquishment between 2020 and 2023 are the Roraima Block which is operated by Anadarko; The Demerara Block operated by CGX Resources Inc.; The Kanuku Block operated by Repsol, Total and Tullow; The Orinduik Block led by Tullow, Eco Atlantic and Total; and the oil rich Stabroek Block which is operated by ExxonMobil’s subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), Hess and CNOOC/NEXEN.
