Despite recent aggressive tactics by Venezuela, specifically its negative stance on Guyana’s oil blocks auction, Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Jermaine Figueira, believes investor confidence in Guyana remains positive.
While speaking to the Guyana Standard, Figueira said the bid round in his eyes, has been a success since eight of the 14 blocks up for grabs received offers from six bidders.
Figueira also expressed his hope for a peaceful resolution to the latest posture by Venezuela and emphasized the importance of maintaining stability and investor confidence in the region.
Notably, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo recently highlighted that companies currently vying for Guyana’s oil blocks in the 2022 Licensing Round to explore and potentially extract oil have expressed no apprehension regarding Venezuela’s recent objection to Guyana’s inaugural auction.
The bid round received offers from six bidders who displayed interest in eight of the 14 oil blocks offered. The government is presently in the process of evaluating these bids and awards are expected by year-end.
Venezuela has been contending that this bid round was illegitimate due to the pending delimitation of maritime areas between the two nations and has stressed that any concessions granted would be deemed “unacceptable,” as such, actions wouldn’t confer any rights to third parties participating in the process.
During the conference, Jagdeo said “It is not surprising that Venezuela would issue this statement,” pointing out that Venezuela’s rejection of the auction and its claims to a significant portion of Guyana’s territory align with past patterns of opportunism. He also cited a history of similar statements by Venezuela in response to major economic resource utilization efforts by Guyana, both on land and in the Exclusive Economic Zone.
