Guyana President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has launched Guyana’s competitive bid round for 14 offshore oil blocks, comprised of eleven shallow water blocks and three ultra-deepwater blocks.
Officially open today, December 9th 2022, the bid round is expected to be open for 4 months and will close on April 14th 2023.
With the massive potential for “25 billion barrels”, President Ali outlined that evaluations of the proposals will take place and following an expedited negotiation period, awards of blocks are expected in Q2 2023.
Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat is expected to publish a notice in the Official Gazette in keeping with the Petroleum Act.
Guyana has seen extraordinary success with offshore discoveries in the last 5 years. The country continues to grow and expand the opportunities to increase production and the inflow of investment into the energy industry and other sectors. The largest upstream player to date has been Exxon, who produces more than 340,000 barrels of oil per day from two FPSOs. The company has had significant success in Guyana and indicates that additional FPSOs are already in development for future projects.
The government has made it clear in the past that the industry must be to the benefit of all Guyanese citizens. At the launch of the bid round, President Ali, stated, “We are hoping that there will be maximum participation and that Guyana would be part of a partnership that creates greater benefit and greater wins for our country and our people.”
Improved fiscal terms have been outlined that provide greater balance of the share of revenue between the government and contractor, while maintaining Guyana’s competitive edge in the region globally.
The International Energy Conference and Expo will take place from February 14-17 2023 at the Guyana Marriott Hotel. At the conference there will be keynote addresses by the leadership of the country including: His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana, Prime Minister Mark Anthony Phillips, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo and Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat.
At the conference we will also hear from senior experts in Guyana’s oil and gas sector, including John Hess, Chief Executive Officer, Hess and Alistair Routledge, President, ExxonMobil Guyana.
Hess Corporation and the Government of Guyana Announce REDD+ Carbon Credits Purchase Agreement
Hess Corporation and the Government of Guyana announced an agreement for Hess to purchase high quality carbon credits for a minimum of $750 million between 2022 and 2032 directly from the Government of Guyana.
Carbon credits are mechanisms used to reduce CO2 emissions. Carbon credits are generated by the avoidance of CO2 emissions. Guyana’s extensive natural rainforests provide an avenue to remove substantial quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere.
This agreement will serve to support Guyana’s efforts to protect the country’s vast forests and provide capital to improve the lives of Guyana’s citizens through investments made by the Government as part of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.
If you would like to learn more about Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy click here:
https://lcds.gov.gy/
Guyana’s President, His Excellency Dr. Irfaan Ali stated, “In 2009, Guyana produced the first low carbon development strategy from a developing country. As one of only nine national jurisdictions in the Amazon Basin, we said long ago that national or jurisdiction-scale action on forests, coupled with access to global private finance, could create solutions that benefit the peoples of forest-rich countries while also achieving global climate goals.”
President Ali was joined by Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo and John Hess, CEO of Hess Corporation for a signing ceremony to commemorate this historic agreement.
The multi-year agreement is for 37.5 million REDD+ jurisdictional carbon credits (current and future issuances). These credits will be on the ART (Architecture for REDD+ Transactions) registry and will be independently verified to represent permanent and additional emissions reductions under ART’s REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard 2.0 (TREES).
Avoiding global deforestation is foundational to the Paris Agreement’s aim of limiting the global average temperature rise to well below 2°C and was one of the major commitments made at the COP26 climate summit, where more than 130 countries, including Guyana, pledged to end deforestation by 2030.
Guyana’s more than 18 million hectares of forests are estimated to store approximately 20 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Through Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030, the country has a roadmap for preserving its forests, while growing its economy and creating a development pathway that is diverse and includes opportunities for all Guyanese citizens.
The purchase of these carbon credits is an important part of Hess’ commitment to support global efforts to address climate change and for the company to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The agreement adds to the company’s ongoing and successful emissions reduction efforts, which are described in Hess’ annual Sustainability Reports.
If you would like to learn more about Hess’ sustainability reports, you can click here:
https://www.hess.com/sustainability/sustainability-reports
ExxonMobil makes two more discoveries offshore Guyana
IRVING, Texas – ExxonMobil has made two new discoveries offshore Guyana to the southeast of the Liza and Payara developments in the Stabroek block. The discoveries at Seabob and Kiru-Kiru are the sixth and seventh in Guyana this year, with the total number of discoveries in Guyana at more than 25.
- Seabob and Kiru-Kiru wells in Stabroek block are sixth and seventh discoveries in 2022
- Guyana investment strategy continues to yield positive results; additional exploration wells planned later this year
- Production from two vessels currently operating offshore has exceeded their initial combined target of 340,000 barrels per day
The Seabob-1 well encountered approximately 131 feet (40 meters) of high-quality hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was drilled in 4,660 feet (1,421 meters) of water by the Stena Carron drill ship. The Kiru-Kiru-1 well encountered approximately 98 feet (30 meters) of high-quality hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone and was drilled by the Stena DrillMAX in 5,760 feet (1,756 meters) of water. Drilling operations at Kiru-Kiru are ongoing.
“ExxonMobil and its partners continue to accelerate exploration, development and production activities for the benefit of all stakeholders, including the people of Guyana,” said Liam Mallon, president of ExxonMobil Upstream Company. “The resources we are investing in and discovering offshore Guyana will provide safe, secure energy for global markets for decades to come.”
The company’s 2022 investment plans include further exploration drilling and resource development in Guyana, where it is already increasing production at an accelerated, industry-leading pace. Two floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels operating offshore Guyana — Liza Destiny and Liza Unity — have exceeded their initial combined production target of 340,000 barrels of oil per day.
A third project, Payara, is expected to produce 220,000 barrels per day. Construction on its production vessel, the Prosperity FPSO, is approximately five months ahead of schedule with start-up likely before year-end 2023. The fourth project, Yellowtail, is expected to produce 250,000 barrels per day when the ONE GUYANA FPSO comes online in 2025.
Guyana’s Stabroek block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers). ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is the operator and holds 45% interest in the block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30% interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25% interest.
US$20m petroleum training facility launched
Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d), the Honourable Mark Phillips, said the Government intends to continuously bolster investments in human capital to build local content capacity and foster a sustainable future for all Guyanese.
He made the remarks while attending the official launch of the US$20m 3T EnerMech Guyana Training Centre of Excellence and graduation ceremony at the company’s headquarters in Lusignan, East Coast Demerara.
The launch of the petroleum training facility, the Prime Minister noted, would enhance Guyana’s human resource development.
“A crucial factor to the success of our nation lies in our people. We must ensure that we utilise the benefits of the oil and gas sector to build a bright future for this, the next generation of Guyanese and beyond. To do that, we must undertake a culture of ownership, a culture where our local content – our people – can thrive and that includes within the workforce itself.”
The training facility, Guyana’s premier in-country, state-of-the-art facility is a collaborative venture between 3t EnerMech, Orinduik Development Incorporated and Windsor Technologies.
Persons will be taught through blended learning software and technology, and via fully immersive simulators for high-hazard activity learning.
CUTTING EDGE DEVELOPMENT
Prime Minister Phillips, during his address, lauded the drive and innovation of the facility and those responsible for its establishment.
“As the first entity with approval to deliver OPITO (Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation)-accredited training to the oil and gas sector in Guyana, our human resources are now strengthened at a global standard to actively and competently participate in the building of this new and abundant area of the country. With an industry that requires high skills and knowledge, it is reassuring to know that these capacities can be imparted to our people without having to leave their home soil.”
LOCAL CONTENT AT WORK
The Senior Government Official added that the “benefit of strong partnerships can never be understated, for these are the binds that allow goals that may otherwise seem unattainable to be achieved”.
He said that the Government would collaborate with 3t EnerMech to offer a blended technical and vocational training programme for Guyanese interested in careers in the oil and gas industry through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL).
“Our Government has continually engaged in the training of our workforce to be able to occupy positions in the oil and gas sector and contribute to the building of this sector, which extends to the development of Guyana. In the past, much of this training was conducted away from home, but today, and from hereon, our people will be able to access such training right here in Guyana.”
In conjunction with the launch, the graduation ceremony, for the first group of students, was also held.
To this end, the Prime Minister charged the graduates to put their skills to use.
“I congratulate the first cohort of participants who underwent training at this facility. May you take your skills and put them to their fullest use as you proceed in your daily tasks of helping to build a better Guyana.”
He said that as a people, Guyana’s success depends on proper resource management, transparency and accountability.
The training programme provides a level one qualification from the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) and is divided into three phases: pre-learning assessment and safe passport, which are completed online, and the technical pathway, which is the practical journey, which is completed at the 3T EnerMech headquarters.
SBM Offshore has announced that it has completed the project financing of FPSO ONE GUYANA for a total of US$1.75 billion., 
The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS), operating under the Ministry of Tourism Industry and Commerce is a semi-autonomous governmental organization responsible for standards and quality in Guyana. There role is to:
VSH United (Guyana) Inc was established on May 2015 in Georgetown, Guyana. Specialises in safety products, logistic services, real estate. They are also the sole distributors for Ansell and HexAmour. Visit their website: 
