Addressing a room of international investors exploring opportunities in Guyana, Public Utilities and Aviation Minister Deodat Indar emphasised the sanctity of contracts in the country, assuring the business community that their investments are fully protected and secure.
“When we in Guyana enter into a contract, we make sure that that contract stands the test of inviolability, and the dictionary defines that as not to be broken or never to be broken, infringed or dishonoured,” Indar informed delegates at the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo 2026 on Thursday.
“So, in Guyana when we sign a contract, regardless of how bad it is or how good it is, we stick by it, and that stability is what brings people to Guyana,” he affirmed.
His remarks follow the heavily criticised Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) signed in 2016 between the Guyana Government and ExxonMobil under the previous A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Administration. That agreement faced widespread scrutiny for its low royalty rate of just two per cent, absence of ring-fencing provisions, and expansive cost recovery clauses.
While some groups called for renegotiation when the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) assumed office in 2020, the Dr Irfaan Ali-led Administration emphasised its commitment to honouring existing contractual obligations.
Nevertheless, the PPP/C Government has introduced new model PSAs, with more favourable terms for the country. Unlike the 2016 oil contract, the new agreement outlines an increase in royalty from two per cent to 10 per cent, a 65 per cent cost recovery as opposed to the previous 75 per cent, and the retention of the 50-50 profit-sharing.
The Government has since signed its first new PSA with a consortium of TotalEnergies (40 per cent), QatarEnergy (35 per cent), and PETRONAS (25 per cent) for Shallow-Water Block S4 in November 2025.
Then in December 2025, the Ghanaian company Cybele Energy Limited also signed the new PSA with the Guyana Government.
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