Latest update January 17th, 2025 6:30 AM
Pres. Ali is open to examining India’s proposal for long-term agreement for oil sales
– despite VP Jagdeo, Natural Resources Minister signaling preference for open auction
Kaieteur News – As Guyana continues to accelerate the development of oil projects offshore, India has raced to the front of the line with a request to enter into a long-term agreement for oil cargoes.
Clippings showing two articles referenced on government’s previous position
President, Dr. Irfaan Ali told media operatives on Tuesday at State House that no decision was made on this front just yet. He also made it clear that there is no inclination to either accept or decline India’s offer. The Head-of-State said the government’s only move thus far is to inform Indian authorities that they can submit their proposal and the country will scrutinise this document accordingly, weighing the pros and cons for the new oil producer.
Ali also promised to keep the country informed every step of the way, as he noted that his government is a transparent one. Ali was keen to note that India has always expressed interest in buying oil from Guyana. He said the South Asian nation even purchased a lift of one million barrels of oil in 2021. Since then, Ali said India has been desirous of having more oil but through a long-term agreement. Ali said both nations have agreed to set up technical working teams to examine this route.
Further to this, President Ali said India is desirous of helping Guyana develop various aspects of its oil and gas ecosystem whether it is for technology transfer, training for human resources, building capacity in terms of value added services required for the oil sector, purchasing of crude, or participating in the country’s maiden oil blocks auction.
He said too that Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo will be in India for a forum next month, and while there, he is expected to follow up on these and other issues. At the press conference, Kaieteur News called on the Head-of-State to explain what prompted the move to now examine the proposal when two of his officials said in previous interviews that the country was not interested in going this route.
In an OilNOW publication on July 21, 2021, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat is quoted as saying that “Guyana not in favour of bilateral agreement with India for oil, that it prefers an open process.”
During the interview with OilNOW, Bharrat said the government prefers to have an open process, which prompted it to issue a Request For Proposals (RFP) for a crude marketer in 2021.
He had said, “Indeed there is great interest from India through the High Commissioner here Dr. K.J. Srinivasa. He has been in constant contact with us. He met with President, Irfaan Ali; the Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo; and myself concerning a long-term arrangement to purchase Guyana’s share of crude. However, we are not really in favour of any bilateral agreement especially when it comes to the oil and gas sector.”
Mr. Bharrat added, “We prefer it to be a more open and transparent process.” (See link for more details: https://oilnow.gy/featured/guyana-not-in-favour-of-bilateral-agreement-with-india-for-oil-prefers-open-process-bharrat/)
In a separate publication, this time by Argus Media, the Vice President is quoted saying, “India should bid along with other companies if it wants to secure a long-term oil contract with Guyana,” adding, “Guyana does not want to go into a bilateral arrangement.” (See link for details: https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2242765-india-should-bid-for-longterm-oil-contract-guyana)
In light of the foregoing, Kaieteur News asked President Ali to say why India’s proposal is not being channeled through a bidding process. The Head-of-State also confirmed that India is the only country thus far that has registered its interest in a long-term arrangement for Guyana’s oil. India is seen as a critical partner in a number of areas for Guyana, especially on oil and gas. It stands as the world’s third biggest oil importer and consumer, ships in more than 80% of its oil needs from overseas.
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