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‘ExxonM, Govt. busy with other priorities’
…as relinquishment of 20% of Stabroek block still not finalised 4 months after deadline – Routledge says
Kaieteur News- Four months past the stipulated deadline, the relinquishment of 20% of the Stabroek Block by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) remains incomplete. The finalisation of the process, according to ExxonMobil’s President Alistair Routledge, is attributed to ongoing administrative formalities and competing priorities for both the company and the Government of Guyana.
ExxonMobil’s President Alistair Routledge (busy with other priorities)
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Routledge assured that Exxon had met all requirements and was awaiting final approvals. He said, “We complied with all the deadlines, all the submissions have been made, we are really just in the finalisation of paperwork.”
Under the terms of the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), Exxon is required to return acreage where no commercial discoveries have been made, in production, appraised or areas where there is potential commercial interest. Exxon was required to return a portion of the Block to Guyana since October 2023; however, former President David Granger had granted the company an extension in 2020 to conduct further exploration activities. This extended the deadline to October 2024.
Notably, when asked about the specific section of the Stabroek Block being handed back to the state, Routledge deferred to the government. “Well, what I’d prefer to do is wait for the government to communicate that, because I don’t think it is appropriate for us to preempt their communication when they are ready to officially release new maps,” he explained.
When pressed further, Routledge suggested that the backlog of other critical matters may be affecting the timeline. He told reporters, “I can’t give you a date, you know work in progress. I expect it shouldn’t be long. What I do appreciate is everybody is busy, our teams are incredibly busy, the government, of course, is very busy. The Ministry of Natural Resources, GGMC, they have a lot going on you know, trying to finaliase the terms for new blocks to be awarded or relinquished, the transfer of the operatorship for the Kaieteur Block. There is a lot of work in process, so I think they’re trying to juggle that and manage priority.”
Despite the delay to finalise the relinquishment, Routledge underscored that, discussions between Exxon and the government have remained constructive.
“No, no, I think we have had a very transparent, open discussion, making sure that we are all working to the requirements of the agreement. So, no disagreement, just an ongoing discussion as to how we look at exploration discovery areas, what are the polygrams to go with that, but this is a very constructive process,” he said.
The Stabroek Block
Routledge added, “So I’m sure the government will announce when all of that has been completed, but all of the work to make the calculation to access the areas has been done.”
Guyana’s Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat stated back in January that the process was in its final stages and that an agreement had been reached in principle between the government and Exxon.
At his ministry’s press conference, Bharrat claimed that the relinquishment of a producing block involves complex calculations to exclude production, appraisal, and areas with commercial potential.
Minister Bharrat had explained the technical challenges involved in finalising the relinquishment process.
He said, “It’s not as simple as it may seem, is very complex especially with blocks that are producing because you have Liza 1 there, Liza 2 there, Payara you have the other developments, then you have discoveries, you have appraisal areas so we now have to decide where we are taking these acreage from…”
However, the minister assured that the process is in its final stages.
“Once we finalise that we will give you the exact acreage that should be finalised very soon…we will give you a full report on it with the exact acreage but I can tell you yes, the process has been advanced significantly almost to completion,” he said.
(‘ExxonM, Govt. busy with other priorities’)
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