Vice President (VP) Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo at his last press conference reassured that government will conduct an audit of the Stabroek Block’s oil reserves with the help of a consultant.
Recently, there have been discussions and varying reports about the true extent of the Stabroek Block’s oil wealth.
At his press conference, Jagdeo addressed the issue of the reserves, noting that ExxonMobil Guyana Limited’s (EMGL) latest submission to the government showed only a minimal increase in proven reserves.
He said, “On the reserve, I told you that there is a submission that Exxon makes to us, this submission showed a minimal increase from the last quarter to this quarter of proven reserves, minimal increase.”
To ensure accuracy and transparency, Jagdeo revealed that the government has already taken steps to have a consultant perform a technical audit of the reserves. This audit aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the proven reserves.
“We have gone out to contract someone to do an audit of these reserves. So we saw what Exxon submitted, and we are going to do an audit of the reserves so that we can get the full picture,” the Vice President explained.
Jagdeo also outlined that this audit is part of a broader effort to address the concerns surrounding Guyana’s oil reserves, which have been a topical issue recently. “So, the issue has come up [and] we’re addressing it,” he concluded.
Jagdeo’s comments follow recent disclosure from Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat, who confirmed that the Stabroek Block now holds an estimated 11.6 billion barrels of oil, a 600-million-barrel increase from the previously reported figure of 11 billion barrels in 2022.
During his recent mid-year presser, Minister Bharrat dismissed higher estimates from other sources, reiterating that only the government and ExxonMobil hold the accurate data on reserves.
Notably, the minister had also disclosed that a contract was awarded to a French company to conduct a reservoir audit. He said, “A French company has been awarded the contract to do our reservoir audit. It is something that we should have done for a long time now, but I’m happy that we’re going to start this soon.”
