“We want to go fast” – Total Energies VP declares as company inks exploration and production license

Nov 12, 2025 News

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– Govt. secures US$15M signing bonus

(Kaieteur News) – Total Energies has made a powerful return to Guyana’s oil frontier, this time in command of Block S4, a shallow-water concession off the country’s coast, where the energy giant and its partners Qatar Energy and Petronas are racing to strike oil within the next five years.

The bold pledge came Tuesday from Daniel Larranaga, Vice President of Total Energies, as the consortium inked its Petroleum Exploration License and Petroleum Agreement with the Ministry of Natural Resources during a signing ceremony at the Pegasus Suites and Corporate Center, Georgetown.

“We want to go fast, we want to explore this basin as soon as we can. We have five years to do it. We are very aware of the penalties; we will not need those penalties. We are here to explore,” Larranaga declared.

Total Energies has been awarded block S4, located in shallow water, offshore Guyana. The French company leads the consortium with a 40% interest in the block, along with its partners, Qatar Energy and Petronas with 35% and 25% respectively. Block S4 spans an area of approximately 1,788 square kilometres, located 50 to 100 kilometres off Guyana’s coast in water depths ranging between 30 and 100 metres.

The company said it is targeting the latter half of 2026 to commence seismic acquisition. This Larranaga said would be “extremely fast for industry standards and will inform the next stage of exploration drilling activities.

The agreement is the first to be signed since government introduced a revised Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with greater fiscal benefits to the country. Amid the package is 10% royalty, 10% taxes and cost recovery capped at 65% monthly with profits to be split 50/50.

Notably, the government of Guyana (GoG) secured a US$15M signing bonus as part of the successful negotiations that were held with the consortium, as highlighted by Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat. It is important to note that shallow water blocks are subjected to a signing bonus of US$10M, while deepwater areas will attract a higher sum of US$20M.

The signing bonus, according to Bharrat will be deposited in about two weeks’ time to the Natural Resource Fund (NRF), or the oil account, with receipts published in the National Assembly.

In the meantime, minister Bharrat welcomed the group as “giants in the industry” to the exciting Guyana basin which has not only unlocked the largest resources globally in the last decade but is also poised for significant growth over the next few years. He was keen to point out the capability of the powerful conglomerate, highlighting the joint experience of the firms through current exploration and production activities globally.

Bharrat also shared brief insights into the tedious negotiations phase with the companies and congratulated the Petroleum Unit of the Ministry for their efforts as a “young team”.

He said, “I want to also thank the three companies that have worked with us over a prolonged period to ensure that we get it right…so that we can have an ideal petroleum agreement that is acceptable by both parties and that would bring benefits to Guyana and Guyanese.” With the Petroleum Activities Act outlining strict penalties for contractors and operators, the minister told the group that government’s aim is to encourage exploration activities to streamline production of oil and gas outside of the Stabroek Block by 2030.

Meanwhile, Larranaga thanked the team at the ministry for their hard work leading up to the signing of the deal, as well as the company’s co-venturers.

He pointed out that just over 35 years ago Total Energies spud the Arapaima well in Guyana. “It has taken 35 years to come back as operators of this basin. Exploration is about perseverance, it’s about technical excellence, it’s about strategic partnerships. We have all of those evidence here today.”

The VP assured that among core values for the consortium are mutual respect and safety. Speaking with reporters at the conclusion of the event, the Total Energies VP noted that the company’s budget for the exploration activity is in the tens of millions of US-dollars. The company will be able to recover those expenses should a commercial discovery be made in the block and production activities commence.

He explained, “What we are chasing is not exactly the same geological play as in the deep-water but we believe it can be very prospective…it’s basically around 3-D seismic, geological and geophysical studies. We will also do social projects as part of our commitments.”

In response to a question from this newspaper, the VP said the oil company is comfortable with the terms of the agreement, describing the contract as “fair” and a “win-win.” Larranaga added that while there may not be room for substantial job opportunities in the early days, the company will be focused on prioritising local content, in keeping with the country’s legislation.

Tuesday’s signing stems from GoG’s maiden bid round of 14 oil blocks, launched by President Ali in December 2022. Bids were later opened on September 10, 2023 where it was disclosed that six companies submitted bids for eight of the blocks. In February this year, the MNR revealed that four Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) with various companies were on the table to be signed this year from the auction. In addition to the agreement with the Total Energies-led consortium, three other contracts were also to be signed for the blocks S5 – International Group Investment Inc.; S7 – Cybele Energy; and S10 – International Group Investment Inc.

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• Auction, Block, Fast, oil, PSA, Total Energies

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