Page 7 - LatAmOil Week 33 2019

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Guyana urged to bring multiple investors on board for offshore projects
GREGORY Quinn, Britain’s High Commis- sioner to Guyana, has encouraged Georgetown to work with as many investors as possible with respect to the development of its o shore hydrocarbon resources.
Quinn told reporters on August 19 that Tullow Oil’s recent announcement of an oil dis- covery at the Orinduik block highlighted the importance of bringing in multiple operators and working with multiple countries. He was speaking during a press conference a er mem- bers of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry met to discuss a trade mission to Aberdeen.
Tullow’s nd is important because it demon- strates that ExxonMobil’s Stabroek block is not the only section of the o shore zone that contains oil, he commented. is, in turn, is a positive development because it will attract other investors to Guyana, he said. “And the more operators and countries and companies you have involved in the oil elds the better,” he remarked.
e high commissioner declined to answer questions about the sections of Tullow’s pro- duction-sharing contract (PSC) that cover roy- alty rates and pro t sharing.
He said he could not comment, as Tullow and the Guyanese government must settle debates about the terms of the contract on their own. He also stressed once again that he viewed
the company’s discovery as a positive develop- ment for the country.
Criticism of the contracts that Georgetown has signed with ExxonMobil and Tullow Oil have spurred calls for amending Guyana’s reg- ulatory regime to enable the establishment of new government agencies to oversee oil and gas operations.
Guyanese officials have not said when or how they intended to address these concerns. ey have, however, asked companies involved in the sector to nominate members of the new Public Accountability and Oversight Commit- tee, which will monitor the national wealth fund to ensure transparency in the use of future oil revenues.
Tullow revealed on August 12 that it had found oil in larger quantities than anticipated at Jethro-1, an exploration well drilled in the Jethro Lobe section of Orinduik. It estimated the size of the discovery at around 100mn bar- rels of crude.
Equity in the Orinduik project is divided between Tullow, the operator, with 60%; EcoAt- lantic (Canada), with 15%; Total (France), with 15%, and Qatar Petroleum, with 10%. Qatar Petroleum arranged to join the project earlier this summer through a farm-in deal with Total.
e block is located about 120km o shore, in water depths of 70 to 1,400 metres. It covers an area of 1,800 square km. ™
EcoAtlantic
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