Total, Qatar Energy among companies to sign PSAs for oil blocks this year

…Govt says PSA’s to be officially signed when regulatory process complete

Days after the Government revealed that at least four bidders will receive their Production Sharing Agreements’ (PSA) this year, it has released the names of these four bidders.

Among the bidders the Government will be signing PSA’s with are the consortium of TotalEnergies, Qatar Energy, and Petronas, who successfully bid for block S4; International Group Investment Incorporated, who successfully bid for blocks S5 and S10 and Cybele Energy, who were successful in their bid for block S7.
In a statement on Monday in which it released the names, the Natural Resources Ministry also slammed statements in sections of the press which gave the impression that the Government was unwilling to release the names.
According to the Ministry, it has been transparent with the bid round process since it was first announced. It pointed out that when the draft of the new PSA was developed, it was publicly shared. So too was the information around the bid round, the bids received and the most responsive bidders.
“This process has been transparent, with ongoing public engagement. The most substantially responsive bidders have been publicly announced, and the process is currently in its final stages, with the awardees expected to be formalised soon. When the regulatory process is completed, a press event will be held to mark the signing of the PSAs, ensuring that the public remains informed throughout the process,” the Ministry explained.
“The GoG (Government of Guyana) recognises the significant public interest in this sector and remains committed to ensuring that the development of the oil and gas industry is conducted in a manner that is both transparent and beneficial to the country as a whole. The GoG further encourages the public to stay tuned to its website [https://petroleum.gov.gy/] for further updates and information.”
The bid round, which was launched in December 2022, closed off in September 2023 with six companies bidding on eight of the 14 blocks offshore that were up for auction. In total, there were 14 offers made on those blocks – two deep-sea blocks and six shallow-area blocks.
During day one of the consideration of the budget estimates on Friday, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat had confirmed that at least four PSAs would be signed during the course of 2025.
While Minister Bharrat had declined to name the companies that will sign the PSA with the Government, it is a known fact that as of October 2024, four out of the six bidders in the 2022 oil auction had already accepted new model PSA.
According to a list released by the Ministry last year, Total Energies EP Guyana BV, in consortium with Qatar Energy International E&P LLC and Petronas E&P Overseas Ventures SDN BHD (Malaysia) – which bid for block S4 – had already accepted the PSA, and their agreement was in the final stages of review.
Delcorp Inc Guyana, comprising Watad Energy and Communications Limited and Arabian Drilling Company of Saudi Arabia, which bid for block D1; and Ghana-based Cybele Energy Limited, which bid for block S7, had also accepted their PSA, which was in the final stages of review.
Lastly, the Ministry of Natural Resources had announced that the International Group Investment Inc of Nigeria, which bid for blocks S5 and S10, had accepted the PSAs for both blocks, which were being processed.
The new model PSA includes an increase of the royalty from a mere two per cent to a 10 per cent fixed rate; the imposition of a 10 per cent corporate tax, and the lowering of the cost recovery ceiling to 65 per cent from the previous 75 per cent, while maintaining the retention of the 50-50 profit-sharing after cost recovery.
Back in February 2024, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had noted that the Government is willing to consider reviewing the non-fiscal terms in the new PSA. Based on feedback received, it was said that Guyana’s new PSA is one of the toughest oil contracts in the market.