President Ali pushes to build local capacity for Guyana’s crude oil trading

…says will work with private sector, intl partners to build local capacity

President Dr Irfaan Ali has announced that he will be working with the private sector in Guyana to build local capacity so that they can eventually take over in selling the country’s share of crude oil received from offshore production activities.
“I will be working with the local private sector and international partners to ensure that we develop our capability and capacity in crude oil trading. We must be able to trade our crude oil from Guyana with the infrastructure, with the human capital, and with the market skills. And that is going to create enormous opportunities for us,” the Head of State said while addressing industry stakeholders at the breakfast energy forum hosted by the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) on Thursday morning.
Based on the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for the oil-rich Stabroek Block, Guyana receives a 50 per cent share of the profit oil from offshore operations. Since production started in December 2019 with US oil giant ExxonMobil as the operator, the country has been hiring international companies via a competitive bidding process to market its share of crude.
According to President Ali, he plans to continue partnering with the international experts over the coming years while simultaneously building local capacity.
“We have to short-circuit this. So, we have to get those who have already done it for other countries to work with us in transferring the knowledge. Maybe to enter a partnership for the next three, four, or five years until we get the experience to do it on our own. These are the bold decisions that we must embrace. These are the bold ideas that will take us from where we are to where we want to be,” the Guyanese leader posited.
Last October, British firms BB Energy Trading Limited and JE Energy were contracted to market crude oil from the Liza Destiny, Unity, and Prosperity Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels for a 12-month period starting in 2024.
These two companies, which had previously marketed Guyana’s crude from the 2023-2024 period, were selected from among 27 bids submitted. The bidding process was divided into several lots: Lot 1 – Liza Destiny FPSO Vessel, Lot 2 – Liza Unity FPSO Vessel, Lot 3 – Payara Prosperity FPSO Vessel, Lot 4 – Any two (2) Lots combined, Lot 5 – Combined Lots One, Two and Three.
At the time of the award of the contract, the Natural Resources Ministry had highlighted that the Government secured a US$1.85 premium per barrel for the sale of its crude oil, a 93 per cent increase from the previous year.
“The combined premium per barrel to be received by the Government of Guyana from these two companies for the crudes from these three FPSOs amounts to US$1.85, reflecting a substantial 93 per cent increase compared to the US$0.96 premium secured in the previous period (2023-2024),” the Ministry had said.
For 2025, Guyana is entitled to 31 of the 246 lifts of profit oil from the Stabroek Block.
Back in July, it was reported that Guyana received payments for 13 of its 31 lifts during the first half of this year. In fact, Guyana has earned just over US$1.05 billion from crude oil sales so far this year.

This, combined with royalty payments, has seen the country’s total oil revenues earned in the first half of 2025 reach some US$1.22 billion or G$255 billion – monies that are being held in the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) at the New York Federal Reserve Bank, where it is earning interest.
The Government is projected to earn an estimated US$2.2 billion in profit oil and US$340.6 million in royalties for 2025.
Exxon, through its local subsidiary Esso Exploration Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), is the operator of the Stabroek Block and holds a 45 per cent interest in the block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30 per cent interest, and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds the remaining 25 per cent interest.
The Liza Phases One and Two and Payara Projects, all of which combined are producing over 600,000 barrels of oil per day, account for the three FPSO vessels operating in Guyana’s Stabroek Block in waters offshore.
Just last month, however, Exxon started up its fourth FPSO, the One Guyana vessel from the Yellowtail Project. With these four FPSOs, the company anticipates growing production to more than 900,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, Exxon has already received approvals for, and is advancing preparatory works on, its fifth and sixth projects, Uaru and Whiptail. Uaru is anticipated to start production in 2026, and Whiptail is anticipated to start up in 2027, taking Guyana’s production to over 1.2 million barrels of oil per day by 2027.
In addition to at least these six projects offshore Guyana, Exxon is also eyeing the possibility of having 10 FPSOs being operational by 2030. Only last week, the Guyana Government approved US oil major’s seventh development in Guyana’s waters – the Hammerhead project, which is targeting a 2029 start-up with an FPSO vessel that will produce approximately 150,000 barrels of oil per day.