Govt. still to gazette applications for new oil blocks, despite legal requirement

Oct 10, 2023 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

Three weeks later…

Kaieteur News – The People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) administration yet to gazette the details of applications for new oil blocks, a requirement under the recently enacted Petroleum Activities Act. Notably, this law was established by the very government now found to be breaching it. This scenario has persisted over three weeks past the bid submission deadline for Guyana’s inaugural offshore licensing round – September 12, 2023. The disclosure of oil block licence applications is mandated by law, to uphold transparency in the oil sector, and is particularly necessary, given the rapid growth and value of the sector.

During a press conference led by Guyana’s Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo after the bid submission deadline elapsed, the VP had presented a document claiming to fulfill the government’s disclosure obligations. However, journalists quickly pointed out that the document he presented was published since 2022, and had nothing to do with the new legal requirement in the Petroleum Activities Act 2023. The issue lingered unresolved as the press conference ended.

While the government has disclosed the companies which submitted bids, the number of bids tendered, and the blocks which received interest, there was no disclosure of the block to which each bid went, nor the nature of the bids.

Blocks in red received 14 bids from six groups of companies

Weeks have since elapsed with no publication in the Official Gazette concerning the elusive details of the oil blocks applications, despite the law’s clear mandate. This lapse is a disconcerting precedent of legal non-compliance exhibited by the PPP/C government at the very first opportunity it had, to be transparent about the subject at hand.

The evaluation period for the bids, as stated by government’s schedule, was September 12 to October 6, with negotiations earmarked to commence on October 10, lasting until October 27. The contracts are poised for awarding on November 1. Amidst this timeline, the delay in publication of details of the oil blocks applications, obscures critical information from the public eye until post-evaluation.

Section Nine of the Petroleum Activities Act, a brainchild of Dr. Jagdeo’s government, unambiguously mandates the publication of application details for petroleum-related licences in the Official Gazette. Dr. Jagdeo, however, intends to defer the publication of these details until the evaluation and bid decision processes have been concluded. This postponement is in stark conflict with the law, given that there is already a separate requirement for the government to gazette post-award information.

This delay undermines the government’s commitment to transparency and keeps the populace in the dark regarding who is vying for control over their nation’s prized assets. There is no way, at this time, for the public to scrutinise whether the awards announced, at the end of this process, were fair.

As of today, October 10 the government’s inaction continues to echo through the corridors of public discourse. The firms bidding for oil blocks in the offshore licensing round include global players like ExxonMobil, Total Energies EP Guyana B.V, and Qatar Energy International E&P LLC, among others. The bids encompass eight blocks, with the other six offered blocks expected to remain unlicensed.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, Government, People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), requirement, Transparency

Latest News