While India has expressed great interest in purchasing oil from Guyana via a long-term agreement, the PPP/C government says it is not inclined to make any decision until the pros and cons of that proposal have been properly scrutinized. Making this clear was President Irfaan Ali during a press conference yesterday at State House.
He said, “Officials in India have expressed always expressed interest in buying oil from Guyana and even participated and sent proposals on this before so this is nothing new. There was even a lift (of one million barrels of oil) that went to them previously.”
The Head of State said too that India also made it clear during his recent 7-day trip there that it wants a long-term relationship with Guyana in oil and a number of areas. He said technical teams will work together and see what proposals they will put forward.
He further noted that Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo will be speaking at a Sustainable Forum in India, and while there, he will wrap up discussions on the foregoing. His trip to India is due in February.
The President said, “Their interest is to see how they can work on the entire ecosystem of our oil and gas industry, whether it is technology transfer, training of our human resources, building capacity in terms of value-added services required for the oil sector, or the purchasing of crude. They are also encouraging their companies to participate in our oil blocks auction.”
Guyana in December last, launched its maiden licensing round which features 14 oil blocks. A new model Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) will be released next month for consultations and finalized for use too.
In addition to examining the role India can play in the nation’s oil and gas sector, the President was also keen to note that India wants to collaborate iin the areas of healthcare, including Ayurvedic and wellness, renewable energy, ICT, technology, and military defence.
Ali said he had several engagements with Indian officials, including the country’s Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on the foregoing industries. He explained that these meetings were in keeping with Guyana’s development trajectory.
He said that the Guyanese delegation, which included Government officials and members of the private sector also, “had engagements with some of the leading private sector organisations, companies, industries” and senior members of the Indian Government, “in pursuing a very targeted approach to what we wanted to achieve as a country.”
Joining the Head of State at yesterday’s press conference were Foreign Affairs Minister, Hugh Todd; the Minister within the Ministry of Local Government, the Anand Persaud; CEO of GO-Invest, Dr Peter Ramsaroop and private sector representatives: PSC Chair Paul Cheong; GMSA President Rafeek Khan; CEO of New Hayven Merchant Bank, Floyd Haynes; CEO of GAICO, Komal Singh; Managing Director of Environmental Management Consultants, Shyam Nokta and CEO of Jacobs Jewellery, Steven Jacobs.
