GGMC examining ExxonMobil’s application for production licence

Mar 18, 2017 News

The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) is currently examining an application for a production licence by one of the biggest oil companies in the world, ExxonMobil.
This is according to two well-placed sources within the Private Sector Commission (PSC). It was also confirmed with officials at GGMC who said that the entity is reviewing the application with much diligence.
For the petroleum production licence to be granted to Exxon, a number of conditions would have to be satisfied.
According to the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act, the licence would not be granted unless the applicant’s proposals for the employment and training of citizens of Guyana are satisfactory, and the proposals of the applicant would ensure the most efficient and beneficial use of the petroleum resources concerned, among other conditions as stipulated by the Act.
Ever since the announcement by ExxonMobil that it had struck a significant oil find, Guyana has become a prized zone for major investments. The US oil giant said that its Liza-1 well has encountered more than 295 feet of high quality, oil bearing sandstone reservoirs.
The well is the first on the 6.6 million acre Stabroek Block and has been drilled to 17,825 feet. It was drilled by ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd.
Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd has a 45 per cent interest in the block. Hess Guyana Exploration Limited holds 30 per cent interest and Nexen Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 per cent interest.
The oil company has made headway amid the border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela, where the latter remains adamant that the area where the US Company is drilling is within its territory.
More than 18 major companies regionally and internationally have since expressed strong interest in investing in the sector and hundreds of skilled persons in the area are on the hunt for opportunities to work in the oil rich shores.
The Bank of Montreal is the latest international organization to provide assistance for the development of Guyana’s oil and gas industry. The Bank made a presentation on the likely financial impacts to members of the Government’s subcommittee on oil and gas in September last.
Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, has announced that a policy is finally in place to help chart the course for Guyana’s developing oil and gas industry.
Trotman said that the Ministry has been working overtime to get Guyana ready for oil and gas production. The Minister of Natural Resources said that persons are also being recruited and sent on scholarship programmes which focus on crucial areas within the sector.
He said, too, that legislation is being finalized to reform the Petroleum Act, so as to ensure that Guyanese benefit from the wealth that will accrue from the sector, so that they will be able to participate in the industry.

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