Minor changes have been made to the non-fiscal terms in Guyana’s new model Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), according to Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat.
The terms govern Guyana’s first offshore auction. Concerns were raised by Stabroek Block operator ExxonMobil. The company and its partners Hess (acquired by Chevron) and CNOOC were awarded the S8 Block located in the shallow end of the Guyana basin.
According to Bharrat, “there were some expressions of concern…with the non-fiscal terms, some of which we could have worked through with. But with regard to the work programme, the fiscal arrangements, the environmental conditions, those were the ones that we were not willing to change or amend in any way. So, there were minor, minor changes to the non-fiscal terms.”
ExxonMobil had previously raised questions about the time periods and measures for relinquishment as matters of concern.
Exxon said it had no qualms with the fiscal terms. These include a 10% royalty rate, a 65% cost recovery ceiling and a 10% corporate tax where there was none before. Profits remain split 50/50.
