Govt gives parliamentary account for US$582M in oil funds received during 2024 3rd quarter

…4 oil lifts recorded during that timeframe

The Government on Monday gave account to the National Assembly for the US$582 Million in funds that were received from both oil and royalty payments during the third quarter of 2024.
During the sitting of the National Assembly, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, laid the Natural Resource Fund notification of receipts in the house.
It shows that profit oil payments were received for six oil lifts from the Liza Unity, Destiny and Prosperity Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels… four of those lifts actually occurring in the third quarter.
US$81 Million ($16.9 Billion in local currency), was received for a profit oil payment that was deposited on July 17, 2024. On July 26, another profit oil payment was deposited on July 26, 2024, this time for the sum of US$86.5 Million ($18 Billion). These profit oil payments were for lifts from the Liza Unity and Prosperity FPSO’s, respectively.
Only July 29, 2024, there was a royalty payment of US$101 Million ($21 Billion), that was related to the production of oil in the 2024 second quarter. The next profit oil payment occurred on August 29, 2024, in the sum of US$79.9 Million ($16.6 Billion). This payment was courtesty of oil production from the Prosperity FPSO.
In September, there were three profit oil payments. The first one, US$79.4 Million ($16.5 Billion) occurred on September 4, 2024 and it was payment for a profit oil lift that occurred on August 6, 2024 from the Liza Destiny.
The remaining two payments, US$78.2 Million and US$76.4 Million, occurred on September 9 and 30, and were for lifts from the Liza Unity and Prosperity FPSO’s that occurred on August 9 and August 30. In a statement, the Ministry of Finance explained that the Finance Minister’s tabling of these records is a continuation of the government’s compliance with the NRF Act it signed into law.
“In July of this year, Minister Singh presented the NRF Annual Report for the fiscal year 2023 to the National Assembly, pursuant to Section 32(4) of the NRF Act 2021. In addition, at that sitting of the National Assembly, the Speaker of the National Assembly also circulated the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee Annual Report for the fiscal year 2023, pursuant to Section 6(6) of the NRF Act 2021.”
“Another key improvement to the NRF Act 2021 is that the Minister could face up to ten years imprisonment if he fails to disclose the receipt of any petroleum revenue received by Government in the Official Gazette within three months of receipt of such monies. The PPP/C Government will continue to manage Guyana’s oil resources in a clear and transparent manner, to the benefit of present and future generations,” the Ministry added.
The funds in the NRF have their origins in the oil-rich Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, where US oil major ExxonMobil and its partners – Hess Corporation and CNOOC – are producing light sweet crude using the Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, and more recently, the Prosperity Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels.
In 2022, for the first time, Guyana had used oil funds to finance a national budget. In fact, in 2022, the Government withdrew a total of $126 billion (US$607.6 million) in three tranches from the NRF which went towards financing Guyana’s national development plans.
In 2023, US$1.002 billion was withdrawn to finance national development priorities. The last of eight withdrawals for last year was made on December 27, 2023, from the NRF to the Consolidated Fund, to the tune of US$152.1 million (equivalent to $31.6 billion).
Last month, the Government made a withdrawal of $62.3 billion (US$300 million) from the NRF, marking the fourth tranche of the $329.8 billion in withdrawals approved by Parliament for 2024. (G3)