Guyana’s Natural Resource Fund (NRF) is already in receipt of US$32 million in signing bonuses following the closure of agreements for two shallow water offshore blocks. This was confirmed by Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, on Tuesday evening as he defended his ministry’s 2026 budget estimates in the Committee of Supply.
Minister Bharrat said the signing bonus represents a significant win for Guyana, particularly when compared with the gains secured from the ExxonMobil-operated Stabroek Block. He noted that the two shallow-water blocks combined cover less than 4,000 square kilometres, while the Stabroek Block spans more than 26,000 square kilometres, yet yielded a signing bonus of just US$18 million.
The minister also reiterated that a consortium comprising QatarEnergy, TotalEnergies, and PETRONAS secured shallow-water block S4, while Cybele Energy, based in Ghana, won shallow water block S7.
Explaining the process behind the agreements, Minister Bharrat told the Committee of Supply that it followed the licensing round that was launched in December 2022. “I am not going to proffer an excuse as to why the agreements took so long, but I’m going to put forward a few reasons why, because it’s important to do so.”
He noted that when the governing party campaigned in 2020, it committed to securing better Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) and a stronger fiscal regime for the country. As such, two models were drafted to govern operations in deep and shallow waters. While negotiations took time on some components of the drafts, he maintained that the fiscal regime, which includes the payment of a 10 per cent royalty, was non-negotiable.
Minister Bharrat also addressed concerns about the availability of seismic data during the 2022 bid round. At the time, Guyana had only 2D seismic data available.
“As you would know, for companies to actually bid on blocks, because it’s such a capital-intensive sector, you really need to be sure as to whether there are signs of hydrocarbons and that the data looked positive for companies to actually submit bids.”
Despite the limited data, he noted that 14 companies submitted bids. To ensure the next bid round attracts greater interest, Bharrat said the government is pursuing a multi-client 3D seismic survey.
He added that the data acquired from that survey “will be held in our own data repository, where a fee would be paid by companies wanting to bid for blocks offshore Guyana and thereby earning revenue as well.”
With the new seismic information and standardised PSA framework in place, Bharrat said Guyana is positioning itself for a more informed and potentially more lucrative bid round.