US$17M oil block bonus: Month-end is “absolute cut-off date” – Bharrat on Cybele’s payment leniency

…says company opened local office, hired Guyanese workers, paid over US$2M in related fees

Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat has set a timeline for the Ghanaian company, Cybele Energy, to pay off the US$17 million signing bonus for the S7 oil block that it was awarded offshore Guyana.
“I say safely, the ending of July will be the absolute cut-off date,” Bharrat declared during an appearance on the Starting Point podcast, where he was asked about the timeline for the oil company to settle the outstanding payment.
Just last month, the Natural Resources Minister had told reporters that Cybele had racked up nearly US$4 million in default interest after failing to pay the signing bonus on time.
The Guyana Government signed the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) in December 2025 with the Ghanaian company – a deal which stipulates the payment of a US$17 bonus within 30 days. Failure to make that payment triggered financial penalties under the PSA.
“There is an accrued interest of, I think, about $4 million right now…which will take the signing bonus from US$17 to above US$20 million,” Bharrat had told reporters on the side-lines of an event last month. At the time, the Minister had explained that the Government had extended the timeline for the payment of the oil block bonus at the request of the company but cautioned that the failure to meet the newly agreed timeline could result in Cybele losing the oil block.
However, during his recent appearance on the Starting Point podcast, Bharrat explained that while Cybele had submitted a work programme with guarantees from potential investors and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the company has since encountered some issues with securing the investments. This, he added, was communicated to the Government by the company earlier this year.
“They would have indicated to us that they’re having a few issues with their investor, but they’ve also indicated recently that they are signing a new agreement, which I believe maybe as we speak, that agreement is being signed with another investor, and that they will be in a position to pay the signing bonus.”
“So, right now, our legal team basically is in contact with them to ensure that they are in compliance with the agreement, or otherwise we will have no other choice than to suspend or to cancel that agreement. They have indicated to us that they need about two to three weeks more. We have been very lenient,” Bharrat stated.

Show leniency
In fact, the Natural Resources Minister went on to defend the Government’s decision to show leniency to the Ghanaian oil company. The first being the fact that Cybele has already set up a local office and employed a number of Guyanese, including a country manager who is a young female Guyanese.
Additionally, the company has also paid their licence fee and their environmental bond to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), respectively.
“So, they would have already paid over US$2 million in licence fees and other fees, which is due by all oil companies that sign agreements with us… So, they have already paid up all of these fees. They’ve already set up the office. They’ve already employed and trained a number of Guyanese. So, the Government is in a sense of being a bit lenient because of these factors and because you want to show investors’ confidence too in Government and in Guyana. And because of that, some amount of leniency, I must say, would have been given to them,” Minister Bharrat stated.

Firstever auction
Guyana’s firstever auction of offshore oil blocks was unveiled in December 2022 by President Irfaan Ali. After several extensions and adjustments to the fiscal framework, the auction concluded with six bidders submitting 14 offers for eight of the 14 available blocks.
Cybele Energy emerged successful in winning Block S7, a shallowwater block located approximately 50 kilometres (km) from ExxonMobil’s prolific Liza One and Two fields. The block is estimated to hold at least 400 million barrels of recoverable oil, with seismic data suggesting that the “oil fairway runs directly through S7 toward Suriname”.
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Accra, Ghana, Cybele Energy is led by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Beatrice MensahTayui, one of Ghana’s most influential businesswomen. The company has expanded operations beyond Ghana into Africa, the United States (US) and the Caribbean. Cybele describes itself as committed to sustainability, innovation and responsible energy practices. Its projects range from offshore exploration to integrated engineering solutions, with partnerships that include Well Expertise of Norway (acquired by Elemental Energies).