LatAmOil: Guyana begins accepting bids in deepwater licensing round

Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali formally marked the opening of the country’s first deepwater offshore bidding round on December 9.

Georgetown is now accepting bids from local firms, national oil companies (NOCs) and international oil companies (IOCs) on 14 offshore blocks that may hold as much as 25bn barrels of oil equivalent (boe), Ali declared. The government will continue to accept offers until April 14, 2023, and aims to announce the winners of the bidding contests in May 2023, he stated.

Guyanese authorities hope the bidding round will attract a wide range of potential investors, the president said. Georgetown will be offering the winners of the auctions the chance to negotiate contracts under the new production-sharing agreement (PSA) model, which aims to establish and maintain a fair balance between the interests of the investor and the interests of the host country, he added.