Guyana’s Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said during an October 12 press conference that its consultants from IHS Markit have returned an early assessment of the bids from the recent offshore licensing round to the Ministry of Natural Resources. The evaluation team is expected to finalize its analysis by next week.
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“The consultants now have submitted back to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, an early assessment of the bids, looking at all the technical issues,” Jagdeo stated. “We anticipate that the evaluation team will complete their work sometime next week. So, they will look at the consultants’ report too.”
The offshore bid round saw 14 offers from six bidders. Major oil players such as ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies, which already have stakes in Guyana’s offshore oil sector, are among the bidders. However, six of the 14 blocks – D3, S1, S2, S6, S9, and S11 – did not receive any bids. Despite this, Guyana officials have said the maiden bid round was positive, arguing that many countries have been offering blocks but receiving minimal interest.
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The government had initially scheduled the bid evaluations from September 18 to October 6, 2023, with an aim to award contracts by November 1. Given the apparent delay in evaluation completion, it is likely the timelines for negotiations with bidders and contract awards will see slight postponements beyond the November 1 scheduled award date.
