Authorities in Guyana are in the process of finalizing arrangements for Qatar Petroleum’s entry into offshore blocks in what is another major development in the South American country’s emerging oil and gas industry.
Back in July 2019, Qatar Petroleum announced that it had entered into an agreement with Total for a share of exploration and production rights in two blocks offshore Guyana.
Under the agreement, which is subject to regulatory approvals by the government of Guyana, Qatar Petroleum had said it would hold 40% of Total’s existing 25% participating interest in the Orinduik block. The other partners in this block are Tullow Oil (the Operator) with a 60% participating interest and Eco Atlantic with a 15% interest. Also, under that agreement, Qatar Petroleum had said it would hold 40% of Total’s existing 25% participating interest in the neighboring Kanuku block. The other partners in this block are Repsol (the Operator) with a 37.5% participating interest and Tullow Oil with a 37.5% interest.
At the time the announcement was made by Qatar Petroleum, Guyana’s Department of Energy had said the deal remains ‘substantially unclear’ and authorities were still studying the transaction.
However, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, told OilNOW this week the government is in the process of greenlighting the deal.
“So, we’re in the process of dealing with that. As soon as that’s finalized, we’ll make an official announcement” he said. “But I can tell you the process is ongoing, that we have no objection with having Qatar Petroleum here.”
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The Orinduik block is located 120 km offshore Guyana and has a total area of about 1,800 square kilometers, with water depths ranging from 70 to 1,400 meters, while the Kanuku block is located 100 km offshore with a total area of about 5,200 square kilometers with water depths ranging from 70 to 800 meters.
