Gov’t extends time for auction of offshore oil blocks’

14 oil blocks – 11 in shallow water and three in deep water- offshore Guyana are up for grabs and Guyana’s government on Wednesday announced that the auction for these blocks has been extended to mid-June.

Guyana’s bid round for 14 new oil blocks was launched last December and it was expected to close by April, 2023. If closed then, the government hopes to award contracts by the end of May 2023.

If successful in the auction, companies will be guided by fiscal and contractual terms meant to garner greater benefits for Guyana.

See below the full release from the Ministry of Natural Resources:

The Ministry of Natural Resources, on behalf of the Government of Guyana, is pleased to announce the extension of the Guyana 2022 Licensing Round’s bid submission deadline to July 15, 2023.

Industry feedback and the advanced pace of modernising the oil and gas regulatory framework underscore the extended bidding period for the nation’s first competitive offshore oil and gas licensing round. The Round, officially launched on December 9, 2022, continues to receive strong global interest and the government has benefited from insightful feedback during the consultation periods of the Indicative Terms and Guidelines and the draft model production sharing agreements (PSAs).

Concurrently, the government recognises that the new era of oil and gas development, facilitated by this current and future rounds, must be governed by a modern regulatory framework and has been thoroughly moving the finalisation of the model PSA, as promised in this government’s manifesto, and the overhaul and strengthening of the 1986 Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act.

This administration also recently concluded agreements with PGS Exploration (UK) Limited and CGG Data Services to reprocess additional 2D seismic data relevant to the blocks for tender. Existing and prospective participants of the licensing round will benefit from the availability of further seismic data which can be licensed to better inform the bids submitted.

The Government of Guyana remains committed to the successful execution of the Guyana 2022 Licensing Round and the strengthening of the nation’s fiscal and legal petroleum management frameworks