Guyana Auctioning Part of Its Oil Fields for Future Development

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Guyana has auctioned off 14 of its offshore oil fields to finance the country's future development, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said, adding that among interested countries are Brazil, Qatar, Kuwait, and India.

"We want multiple investors coming in here… they can start simultaneously," Jagdeo said during the International Guyana Energy Conference and Expo 2023, as quoted by Guyanese newspaper News Room.

Future investors will be allowed to develop only three oil fields simultaneously, the official was cited as saying.

The bidding round for 14 oil fields was launched last December and is expected to be completed by April 2023, with the Guyanese government hoping to sign contracts by the end of May, the report added.

According to Jagdeo, Brazil, Qatar, India, and Kuwait are interested in developing the Guyanese oil fields, and the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates have also expressed interest in investing in the Guyanese oil sector.

The country's authorities want to conclude more favorable agreements with new investors compared to the agreement concluded with the ExxonMobil-led consortium for the Stabroek oil block, the newspaper reported.

The new agreement will include a 10% royalty rate, compared to the 2% provided by ExxonMobil. The government will also introduce a 10% corporate tax, lower the cost recovery cap from 75% to 65% and retain a 50/50 post-recovery profit sharing between the government and the contractor, the report added.

Guyana started exporting oil in 2020 and since then has been supplying raw materials mainly to the nearby Caribbean countries and the United States, as well as to China. In March 2021, Guyana shipped its first oil tanker to India, which was trying to reduce its dependence on raw materials from the Middle East.