Guyana on right track with pace of oil production – African Energy Chamber Chairman

– says morally wrong to seek to limit developing countries’ oil production

The pace at which Guyana has been developing its hydrocarbon resources has been lauded by the Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, NJ Ayuk. As a matter of fact, Ayuk has urged Guyana to seek to produce every single drop of hydrocarbon that it can find.
Ayuk is a leading voice in the African business and energy sector and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Centurion Law Group, which specialises in oil and gas. During a recent trip to Guyana where he participated in the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF23), Ayuk expressed his support for the Government’s policy of maximising oil production as quickly as possible.
“The wealthy nations have produced hydrocarbons, developed their economies, and done very well; now, they need to decarbonise. The Caribbean and African nations, need to industrialise. It is morally wrong to look at the Caribbean and African nations and say, ‘you need to go the same path as us.”
“The Minister said by 2030 there will be about 1.5 million barrels of oil per day. They need that, for their development. You can’t just see someone and give them a lecture and say, stop. Please don’t stop. Produce every single drop of hydrocarbon you can find and then use that money to grow at your own pace,” Ayuk said.
According to him, maximising oil production also paves the way for a country to make the necessary capital investments in transitioning to renewable energy. He also noted the potential for local content and transferrable skills, using the example of Nigeria, where most of the workers on the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) are Nigerian.
“Look at Guyana, for just oil investments. There are a lot of opportunities. Take for example the Nigerian FPSOs. The majority of employees are Nigerians. So, you can see where you have huge swatches of knowledge, and information, that have come from Africans for example, or the Caribbean, that have worked with some of the world-class service companies whether it’s Schlumberger. And those skills can be transferred.”
“We need to make money, so we can bring renewables. If you’re broke, you’re never going to go green… the governments have to play a role to really drive (the development of the sector). that’s why we have to keep insisting on an enabling environment and really driving our people to be part of that growth,” Ayuk said.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has been vocal about the Government’s intention to maximise oil and gas development as quickly as possible while the window for earning money from oil production is still open.
This also extends to gas production, with Jagdeo recently pointing out that as Guyana moves to develop a National Gas Strategy, it is now time for the country to move swiftly in developing gas and fast-tracking the gas-to-energy project since the resource has a small window as the world transitions from fossil fuel.
Consequently, he noted that the Government will further engage ExxonMobil, which along with its partners Hess Corporation and CNOOC Limited is producing oil in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana where at least two commercial gas fields have been found.
However, the Vice President had pointed out that the Government was not pleased with the pace at which the development of gas is moving and is looking at the potential of bringing on another partner.
The Government recently completed a bid round of available oil blocks. Of the 14 blocks in the auction – three in deep-sea areas and the other 11 in shallow areas – offers were made on two deep-sea blocks and six shallow-sea blocks.
Among the notable awardees was Sispro Inc, a Guyanese company owned by four women, which has received two oil blocks offshore Guyana – a shallow block (S3) and a deep-water block (D2).
Other shallow blocks were awarded to: Total Energies EP Guyana BV in consortium with Qatar Energy International E&P LLC and Petronas E&P Overseas Ventures SDN BHD (Malaysia), which got Block S4; Liberty Petroleum Corporation of the US and Ghana-based Cybele Energy Limited, which got Block S7, and International Group Investment Inc of Nigeria, which got two Blocks – S5 and S10.
Another shallow block, S8, was also awarded to the Stabroek Block partners – ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, Hess New Ventures Exploration Limited, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited.
Meanwhile, the second deep-water block – D1 – was awarded to Delcorp Inc Guyana which comprises Watad Energy and Communications Limited, and Arabian Drilling Company of Saudi Arabia. (G-8)