Guyana to conduct its own surveys of oil blocks

Feb 16, 2020 News

The Department of Energy is almost done with the procurement process for a consultant to help it study Guyana’s oil blocks.
This was revealed by Energy Director, Dr. Mark Bynoe, during a press conference held last Monday by the Department of Energy.

Energy Director, Dr. Mark Bynoe

He told reporters that the 2D and 3D seismic surveys to be executed are necessary before the country heads to its next licensing round for oil blocks.
“Otherwise, we’re licensing blindly.”
Seismic surveys entail generating sound waves that are transmitted into the earth and recording the energy that is returned from changes in rock layers. The difference between the two types is that 3D imaging provides information continuously through the subsurface within the bounds of the survey, whereas 2D seismic reveals only strips of information.
Oil companies conduct their own seismic surveys, but Government would be able to build its own data once the procurement of a consultant is successful.
Dr. Bynoe explained that the surveys would allow the Department to ascertain the prospectivity of the blocks and the shapes they should have.
Having valuable data on the blocks will allow the Department of Energy to put the blocks on auction at higher stakes. Guyana’s neighbour, Suriname, has up to recently announced that it intends to farm down parts of blocks after it took the time to study a large nearshore acreage.
Also in consideration for Guyana, before the licensing round, is the possibility that different fiscal terms may be offered depending on the allocation zone of the block. Government has differentiated three allocation zones: onshore, shallow continental shelf (nearshore), and deep or ultra deep.
“Those are not decisions the Department of Energy can make in isolation,” Dr. Bynoe said.
The Department of Energy will take advice from other governmental institutions, like the Finance Ministry and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).