US$108.5 million earned by Guyana in latest sale of crude oil share

…another lift expected this week

Guyana’s last documented sale of its share of crude from ExxonMobil’s operations in the Stabroek Block netted the country US$108 million. This is according to data from the Bank of Guyana.
According to the Quarterly report from the Bank of Guyana on the Natural Resource Fund (NRF), profit oil was last recorded in June. In that entry, Guyana earned US$108.5 million from the Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.

The market value of the fund, which is housed in the United States Federal Reserve, was US$753.2 million at the end of June. However, a portion of money from the fund was transferred to the Consolidated Fund only days ago.
Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh had announced the withdrawal of GY$41.7 billion from the NRF. The withdrawal, which is the second from the fund for the year, is to finance national development projects.
“It would be recalled that in May of this year, Government made its first withdrawal of US$200 million equivalent to GY$41.7 billion. This brings the accumulated withdrawals to date from the NRF to US$400 million, equivalent to GY$83.3 billion,” the press release from the Minister explained.
“The recent amendments to the 2019 Natural Resource Fund Act set clear ceilings on withdrawals from the fund for budgetary spending and promote transparency in the management and use of oil resources. Staff praised the authorities’ thorough review of the 2019 NRF Act before making amendments, and the restraint in using any oil revenues before the passage of the amendments.”
In a recent interview, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat had meanwhile informed this publication that Guyana’s next lift is likely to be within this new week. According to him, this will come from the Liza Unity FPSO.
“We’ve got one coming up, that’s Destiny. Destiny is coming up. And also, Unity. July for Unity, August for Destiny. Third week in July and second week in August for Destiny,” Minister Bharrat explained.
Guyana currently has a one-year contract in effect with Saudi Aramco, to market its crude entitlement. Last month, Brazilian state-owned company Petrobras purchased one of two lifts of crude from the Liza Phase One and the Liza Phase Two projects operated by ExxonMobil.
According to a report from the Nasdaq, Petrobras bought what would be its first shipment of crude from Guyana. The one million barrels of crude, which were loaded from the Liza Destiny, were to be refined in Brazil.
A Petrobras spokesperson was also quoted in the Nasdaq report as saying that the state-owned company is constantly on the lookout for different suppliers on the international market. The crude grades it aims to acquire also varies.
“Petrobras constantly monitors the international oil market, looking for different suppliers and new production worldwide…the selection of crude grades varies, depending on economic scenarios, trying to identify those that can meet domestic and international demand of refined products, aiming at greater profitability for Petrobras,” the company spokesperson was quoted as saying.
While this marked Petrobras’s first purchase of crude from Guyana, Mataripe, an independent refinery located in Brazil and operated by Acelen, is reported to have bought two cargoes of Liza crude since January.
Back in April, for the first time in Guyana’s short oil production history, Guyana had had as many as two oil lifts in one month, with lifts from the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity FPSO vessels crossing paths.
The historically high oil prices (oil prices have not exceeded US$100 on the global market since 2014) are part of the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It is, however, a double-edged sword where Guyana is concerned. That is because of the sharp rise in oil prices at the local pumps.
When the lifts were completed in April, the Guyana Government had announced it would be receiving US$106 million for its first oil lift entitlement from the Liza Unity FPSO vessel, having already sold the lift via a competitive bidding process to an ExxonMobil affiliate. (G3)