Aiteo Group – one of Nigeria’s latest energy conglomerates has signaled its interest in Guyana’s booming oil and gas sector, particularly in onshore exploration and development.
Its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder, Benedict Peters led a delegation of investors from the West African nation to Guyana on Monday, meeting with the President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, the Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat and other government representatives.
Aiteo says it is one of Africa’s fastest-growing energy leaders and an integrated energy group with a clear vision for the future and the experience and assets necessary to provide oil and gas on a regional and global scale.
Guyana has now become an investor magnet because of its massive oil and gas resources in the offshore Stabroek Block, operated by ExxonMobil. But though much of the excitement lies in the deepwater, this has sparked renewed interest in the onshore Takatu Basin.
Explorers have had an interest in Guyana’s Takatu Basin, located in the southern part of the country approximately 480 km (300 miles) from the coast, for several decades. The basin extends westward into Brazil and separates Guyana’s Northern and Southern Geological Province.
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Wells drilled in the basin include Lethem-1 (1980), Karanambo-1 (1982), Turantsink-1 (1992), and Apoteri K2 (2011), all of which had unfavourable outcomes, according to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC). But those drilling campaigns did not have the advanced technology used today.
There are also some non-active onshore blocks near the coast.
Additionally, discussions with the Nigerian delegation focused on other business opportunities that exist in Guyana in agriculture, housing development, mining and also a refinery.
That topical issue has been brewing for months on end with the government still deciding whether it will establish one.
The Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo had opined that a small modular refinery would do wonders for Guyana’s energy security, since the country has been battling with an unstable power grid for years.
One company – Chemtech International, has already applied for environmental authorisation to build a US$200 million oil refinery and petrochemical manufacturing complex.
