Growing oil producer Guyana has extended the deadline for bids in its first competitive auction for offshore blocks by three months to 15 July, the natural resources ministry said today.
The ministry launched the auction on 9 December 2022 and had set 14 April deadline for bids for 11 shallow-water and three deepwater blocks, saying contracts would be awarded by 31 May.
It did not indicate a revised date for awarding contracts.
"Industry feedback and the advanced pace of modernizing the oil and gas regulatory framework underscore the extended bidding period for the nation's first competitive offshore oil and gas licensing round," the ministry said today.
Current and future bid rounds "must be governed by a modern regulatory framework and the government has been thoroughly moving towards the finalization of the model production share agreement," the ministry said. The government had said in March that the auction could be delayed by only one month.
The government's draft of new production sharing terms will see winning bidders paying a 10pc royalty, against 2pc being paid by US major ExxonMobil under its 2016 production sharing agreement.
The current 75pc cost-recovery ceiling is being lowered to 65pc, while profit sharing after cost recovery remains evenly split between the contractor and the government.
"These new terms will double Guyana's share from 14.5pc to 27.5pc, plus the newly introduced 10pc corporate tax," the government said.
The government recently concluded agreements with technology data providers PGS Exploration of the UK and CGG of France to reprocess additional data about the blocks being offered, it said.
"Existing and prospective participants of the licensing round will benefit from the availability of further seismic data which can be licensed to better inform the bids submitted."
The bidding round has attracted interest from several major international companies from the US, India, Europe and South America, officials confirmed to Argus.
Over 20 bids have been made so far by "majors and other well-established oil companies from many countries, and the level of interest has met our expectations," one official said.
Guyana's crude production in February averaged 390,090 b/d, up from 152,500 b/d a year earlier, according to data from the country's petroleum management agency (GPMI).
ExxonMobil is producing from two projects on the deepwater Stabroek block and is developing four more on the block, forecasting output of at least 1.2mn b/d by 2027.
