CGX Energy is continuing to lay claim to Guyana’s Corentyne Block even though the Government of Guyana maintains that the company and its partner no longer hold a valid licence for the offshore acreage.
In its latest financial update issued August 14, CGX said its joint venture with Frontera Energy Guyana Corp. “continues to firmly maintain” that its interests in the Corentyne Block and the related petroleum agreement remain valid and in good standing.
But the company acknowledged in the same release that the Government of Guyana has reaffirmed its position that those interests expired on June 28, 2024. CGX and Frontera disagree with that position and say they intend to continue asserting their contractual and legal rights.
Authorities say CGX has been treated fairly, insist no dispute exists with company | OilNOW
OilNOW has previously reported that the companies did not advance their discoveries to development within the licence period and that the government determined the Corentyne licence expired on June 28, 2024. The government’s position is that the acreage reverted to the State and could be offered to new investors.
The government’s position has effectively frozen CGX and Frontera’s upstream position in Guyana. CGX said it recorded a full impairment of its Corentyne exploration and evaluation asset in 2025 because of uncertainty over the licence and its ability to access the block. That impairment remained unchanged at June 30, 2026.
This means CGX continues to assert ownership rights over the acreage while carrying the Corentyne exploration asset at nil value in its accounts and acknowledging that the Guyana government regards the licence as expired.
CGX and Frontera drilled the Kawa-1 and Wei-1 discoveries on the block but did not progress either discovery to a commercial development before the licence period ended. OilNOW reported in 2024 that the companies sought additional time after submitting a Notice of Potential Commercial Interest for Wei-1 shortly before the June 28 deadline, but government approval was required for them to retain the relevant acreage.
The government has since consistently maintained that the licence lapsed. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said in December 2024 that, absent approval for an extension, the licence was finished when its contractual period ended.
Berbice port gets commercial agreement after US$17.1M impairment
Away from the offshore dispute, CGX reported a more positive development at its Berbice River Port.
Its subsidiary, Grand Canal Industrial Estates Inc. (GCIE), entered into a port services agreement with an unnamed third-party customer effective June 15, 2026.
The agreement covers designated port capacity and six acres of storage and initially runs until July 17, 2027. CGX said it provides for a minimum monthly charge of US$64,000, excluding applicable VAT, and minimum annual throughput of 240,000 metric tonnes. Additional fees may be earned from excess throughput and other port services.
CGX Berbice Port begins operations | OilNOW
The agreement represents a notable change in the commercial picture CGX presented only five months earlier.
In its March 17 year-end release, the company disclosed a US$17.1 million non-cash impairment against its Berbice River port infrastructure. CGX said that write-down reflected revised assumptions about expected utilisation levels and the timing of development activities based on conditions at the end of 2025.
The August release does not explain whether the new customer agreement materially changes the utilisation assumptions that led to the impairment, nor does it announce any reversal of that write-down.
Instead, CGX’s latest disclosure says continued port commercialisation and the performance of existing and future customer agreements remain among the assumptions underlying its outlook. It also lists customer defaults, reduced throughput, maintenance requirements, dredging and additional infrastructure.
