GUYANA

BREAKING NEWS:

ExxonMobil Announces 13th Discovery Offshore Guyana 
Oil discovery at Yellowtail-1 well is fifth discovery in Turbot area
Turbot area expected to become major development hub
Adds to previously estimated 5.5 billion barrels of discovered recoverable resource

Dateline:  IRVING, Texas    Public Company Information:

NYSE:XOM
IRVING, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ExxonMobil said today it made a new oil discovery offshore Guyana at the Yellowtail-1 well, marking the 13th discovery on the Stabroek Block. The discovery adds to the previously announced estimated recoverable resource of approximately 5.5 billion oil-equivalent barrels on the Stabroek Block. Yellowtail-1 is the fifth discovery in the Turbot area, which ExxonMobil expects to become a major development hub.

“Similar to the Liza area, successive discoveries in the Turbot area have continuously grown its shared value,” said Mike Cousins, senior vice president of ExxonMobil Exploration and New Ventures. “Our success here can be attributed to our industry-leading upstream capabilities, the strength of our partnerships and our ongoing commitment to growing Guyana’s offshore potential.”

Yellowtail-1 encountered approximately 292 feet (89 meters) of high-quality oil bearing sandstone reservoir and was drilled to a depth of 18,445 feet (5,622 meters) in 6,046 feet (1,843 meters) of water. The well is located approximately 6 miles (10 kilometers) northwest of the Tilapia discovery. The Noble Tom Madden began drilling the Yellowtail well on March 27. It will next drill the Hammerhead-2 well.

Exploration and development activities continue at other locations on the Stabroek Block. The Stena Carron is currently completing a well test at the Longtail-1 discovery and upon completion will next drill the Hammerhead-3 well. Later in 2019, the Stena Carron will drill a second well at the Ranger discovery. The Noble Bob Douglas drillship is currently completing development drilling operations for the Liza Phase 1 development. ExxonMobil is also evaluating plans to add another exploration drillship, bringing the number of drillships offshore Guyana to four.

ExxonMobil has previously said there is potential for at least five floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels on the Stabroek Block producing more than 750,000 barrels of oil per day by 2025. Startup of the Liza Phase 1 development is on track to begin by the first quarter of 2020 and will produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day utilizing the Liza Destiny FPSO, which is expected to arrive in country in the third quarter.

Liza Phase 2 is expected to startup by mid-2022. A final investment decision is expected soon subject to government and regulatory approvals. Upon approval, the project plans to use the Liza Unity FPSO to produce up to 220,000 barrels per day. Sanctioning of a third development, Payara, is also expected in 2019, with startup projected for 2023.

The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers). ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45 percent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds 25 percent interest.

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil, the largest publicly traded international energy company, uses technology and innovation to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading inventory of resources, is one of the largest refiners and marketers of petroleum products, and its chemical company is one of the largest in the world. For more information, visit www.exxonmobil.com or follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/exxonmobil.

Cautionary Statement: Statements of future events or conditions in this release are forward-looking statements. Actual future results, including project plans, schedules, capacities, and resource recoveries could differ materially due to changes in market conditions affecting the oil and gas industry or long-term oil and gas price levels; political or regulatory developments including obtaining necessary regulatory permits; reservoir performance; the outcome of future exploration and development efforts; technical or operating factors; the outcome of commercial negotiations; and other factors cited under the caption “Factors Affecting Future Results” on the Investors page of our website at exxonmobil.com. References to “recoverable resource” and similar terms in this release include quantities that are not yet classified as proved reserves under SEC rules but that are expected to be ultimately recoverable.

Contact:  ExxonMobil Media Relations

Orinduik partners approve second location

Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas with licences in highly prospective regions in Guyana and Namibia, announced that the partners on the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana approved the drilling budget and the location of the second well of the 2019 drilling program.

Highlights:

• The ‘Joe’ prospect was selected as the second well location by Eco Atlantic (15%), Total E&P Activitiés Pétrolières (25%) and Tullow Guyana (60%), (Operator)
• The Partners contracted the Stena Forth Drill Ship to drill the Jethro Lobe Well with a spud date scheduled for early June 2019. The rig will move directly after to Joe and begin drilling this second exploration well in mid July 2019
• The Joe Well is located in 650 meters of water
• Joe is a 150 mmboe (P50 – Best Estimate) Upper Tertiary target which has a 43.2% Chance of Success, as estimated in the independent (NI51-101 Compliant) report produced by Gustavson Associates
• Net Cost to Eco for its 15% Working Interest in the Joe Well is expected to be approx. USD $3 million
• This is significantly less than the expected cost of the first Jethro-Lobe Well, which is estimated at approx. USD $6.9 million, as the cost of mobilising and demobilising the drilling rig have all been incorporated into the cost of the first well.
• As announced on 27 February 2019, Eco is fully funded for the 2019 campaign and beyond having current cash of approx. USD $19 million.
• The second well is subject to customary Guyana Department of Energy review.

Colin Kinley, Chief Operating Officer of Eco Atlantic, commented:

‘The approval, at this stage, of a second well is a clear indication of the Partners’ risking of Orinduik. All of the Partners support a two well drilling campaign targeting close to 370 million barrels of Gross Prospective Resources (P50 Best) at 43.2% risking, which is well above industry averages anywhere in the world. Both the Upper Tertiary age, Joe and Lower Tertiary age, Jethro are excellent targets and have been selected jointly between our Geoscientific Teams.”

“Our recently updated CPR ncluded a billion barrel increase in Gross Unrisked Prospective Resources to 3,981.9 MMBOE. The evaluation of the Orinduik Block is ongoing and we are confident in our ability to prove up oil in the Tertiary aged section that has already been derisked by our neighbours on the Stabroek Block with the Hammerhead discovery. We have developed an excellent geological and geophysical model that we continue to build on together with our Partners.”

Gil Holzman, President and CEO of Eco Atlantic, added:

“With the selection by the Orinduik Partners of the second well target for our 2019 drilling campaign, we are now set for a transformational period in the life of our company. With exceptional Partners, a strong cash balance, and an inventory of many high impact drilling targets in the most exciting oil province in the world, we hope to deliver significant value to shareholders in the near term. I take special pride in our ability to deliver and meet our professional objectives, bringing the company to such an exciting stage.”

Source: Eco (Atlantic)

Orinduik Block- updated CPR

Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas announced that Gustavson Associates of Boulder Colorado has completed and delivered an updated NI 51-101 compliant Competent Persons Report (‘CPR’) on the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana. This report is the second on Eco Atlantic’s Orinduik Block and follows the completion of the 3D processing and an additional six months of interpretation work. It supplements and updates the interpretation of the previous CPR announced on 11 September 2018.

Following the completion of the processing of the 2,550 km2 3D seismic program and the reported regional Tertiary discoveries, including Exxon’s Hammerhead discovery, the company and its partners (Tullow – 60% Operator, Total – 25%, Eco – 15%) have completed a further extensive evaluation and risking exercise on the leads and targets on the Orinduik Block following review and analysis of this additional information. Gustavson has independently updated the previously announced P50 Best estimate of the Gross Unrisked Prospective Resources within the Orinduik Block.

The updated CPR estimates an increase in Gross Unrisked Prospective Resources P50 (Best) to 3,981.9 MMBOE on the Block, implying Net (15%) 597.3 MMBOE to Eco, identified across a total of 15 Leads on the Orinduik Block.

A link to the full CPR Report can be viewed online at www.sedar.com and is also available on the Company’s website: www.ecooilandgas.com.

Colin Kinley, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Eco Atlantic commented:

“Eco is pleased with the progress made in defining the prospectivity on Orinduik. As the regional play continues to develop, and more discoveries have been made, particularly in the Tertiary play, as was proven by Exxon’s Hammerhead 1 discovery, this has allowed us to build upon our model. Our first drill target scheduled for June is Jethro, on which Gustavson has firmed up their estimate to contain 214.5 MMBOE (P50) at 43.2% Chance of Success. The partners are in the process of approving a second well and we believe the risking will be in the same range as for Jethro. We hope to confirm drilling plans for well number two in the near future to take advantage of the economics of our rig on the block.“

“We are very happy with the interpretation of the Hammerhead-1 discovery up on to Orinduik. Although the volumes are conservative, it has an extremely low risk for drilling (81% Chance of Success) and has confirmed the presence of oil on our block. We understand that this discovery will be offset drilled on the Stabroek block in the near future which will help further define our interpretation of our other leads and targets.”

“We have confidence in our and our partners’ work to date, as we continue to work with the industry leading teams at Tullow, who is Operator, and Total, who is a fully engaged partner. At this point we are looking to drill strategic lower risk targets. Assuming positive results, we aim to move quickly to production planning and optimum economics for our partnership and the people of Guyana.”

Source: Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas

IDB praises efforts to strengthen oil and gas sector

President Granger met President of the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB), Luis Alberto Moreno, who commended his leadership in ensuring that the necessary systems and policies are put in place to manage the looming oil and gas sector and the wealth which will be accrued. Moreno, accompanied by IDB’s Country Representative, Sophie Makonnen, said that the President’s leadership in this area particularly, cannot be understated and the benefits of it will be seen in the management of the sector when it comes on stream.

“I think when people write the history of Guyana some years from now, they will look at this period in time and see how the Guyanese people and the Guyanese leadership thought about how they can deal with one of those things that can only happen in once in a lifetime. It is in this regard that we have been privileged to work with you, President Granger, as you prepare things that are so timely like your Sovereign Wealth Fund and as you continue to push forward. Your leadership in this has been very central and we are very happy to be side to side with you. I am convinced that the best days of Guyana are ahead of us and they would be materialised largely for all the work that you have been doing to cement that future for the Guyanese people” Moreno assured that the Government can look forward to continued support from the entity as it seeks to enable the country to benefit in the best ways possible.

President Granger welcomed the support of the Bank and looked forward to working more closely with the institution in the coming months in other areas such as climate related financing, infrastructure development and support for migrants.

“I want to express our appreciation to you for your concern towards Guyana. We are certainly very appreciative of your stewardship and we wouldn’t have gotten this far if you didn’t have Guyana at heart. We have a long-standing relationship with the Bank and especially with your support in the oil and gas sector. The Bank has been at the forefront and has given significant support. We will continue to look forward to your support as we try to build very strong, sturdy and robust policies for the sector” .

They discussed the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy as well as support and possible areas of collaboration for climate financing and to advance dialogue on the ‘Guiana Shield.’

The Minister of Finance said that Moreno’s visit is the first under this administration and serves as a testimony of the long and enduring friendship between the Bank and Guyana.“It signals the Bank’s commitment to the development of Guyana and is also an indication of your deep interest in the development of Latin American and Caribbean countries. During your stewardship, much has been achieved including a major increase in the Bank’s capital and increased emphasis on climate related matters, which are dear to Guyana. As Guyana stands on the cusp of a transformative development, made possible by our growing oil resources, the Government will be looking to its development partners such as the IDB to assist in strengthening institutions, policies, legislations and systems toward ensuring that the Guyanese populace from the country’s endowment.”

Guyana signed two loans with the bank to the value of US$31M for the establishment of an Electronic Single Window for Trade and the Energy Matrix Diversification and Institutional Strengthening of the Department of Energy. In December 2018, Guyana signed a US$11.6 million loan, to prepare for transition towards a major oil and gas producing State. The project is designed to support strengthening and sustainability of the energy sector by contributing to the institutional development of oil and gas governance and the development of cleaner energy sources for electricity generation.

Frontera Energy acquires rights of CGX Energy

Frontera Energy announced that, on March 12, 2019, it acquired 12,181,000 rights to acquire common shares of CGX Energy. The aggregate purchase price for the Rights was C$60,905 (or C$0.005 per Right). Frontera acquired the Rights through the TSX Venture Exchange in connection with the rights offering previously announced by CGX in a news release on February 1, 2019.

Prior to the acquisition of the 12,181,000 Rights, Frontera owned or exercised control over 56,066,214 Common Shares and 56,066,214 Rights on a non-diluted basis (representing approx. 48.29% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares on a non-diluted basis) and 152,132,428 Common Shares on a partially-diluted basis, assuming the exercise or conversion of all securities (including the Rights and the $8,800,000 bridge loan) then held by Frontera (representing approx. 71.7% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially-diluted basis).

Immediately after the acquisition of the 12,181,000 Rights, Frontera owns or exercises control over 56,066,214 Common Shares and 68,247,214 Rights on a non-diluted basis (representing approx. 48.29% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares on a non-diluted basis) and 164,313,428 Common Shares on a partially-diluted basis, assuming the exercise or conversion of all securities (including the Rights and the $8,800,000 bridge loan) then held by Frontera (representing approximately 73.24% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially-diluted basis), resulting in approx. a 1.54% increase in Frontera’s holdings of the Common Shares on a partially-diluted basis.

Frontera acquired the Rights for investment purposes. Frontera may, from time to time and depending on market and other conditions and its obligations and rights under a standby commitment in connection with the Rights Offering as disclosed in the February 1 News Release, acquire additional Common Shares and/or other equity, debt or other securities or instruments of CGX in the open market or otherwise (including pursuant to the exercise of the additional subscription privilege under the Rights Offering), and reserves the right to dispose of any or all of the securities in the open market or otherwise at any time and from time to time, and to engage in similar transactions with respect to the securities, the whole depending on market conditions, the business and prospects of CGX and other relevant factors.

Source: Frontera Energy

Rowan contract with Repsol for Rowan EXL II

The contract is for one well beginning in the third quarter of 2019 with a duration of approx. 45 days. The EXL II is currently under contract with BP in Trinidad.

Source: Rowan Companies

 

New US Ambassador – ‘free and fair elections’

“Moving forward, we will continue to encourage genuinely free and fair elections, freedom of speech and assembly, multiparty representation, and a constitutional judiciary process.”

The Ambassador’s comments come when President Granger is under pressure to name a date for general and regional elections to be held by March 21 following the December 21 passage of the No-Confidence motion against his Government. An extension requires a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly and for that the Government will need the Opposition to vote. A meeting between the President and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) ended without a definite date for elections, with Government commissioners insisting on house to house registration that could put a date for elections at year end.

In response to the US Ambassador, President Granger reiterated that the US and Guyana have always respected the “non-interference” in each other’s internal affairs.

“Our relations are founded on mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, cooperation for mutual benefit, respect for treaties and international law and the maintenance of regional peace and security.”

For over five decades Guyana and the United States enjoyed cooperation in energy, health , public security and youth empowerment. It is expected that the duties of the Ambassador will enhance relations within the two countries. Over the years the US witnessed significant progress in the country and they are proud to partner with Guyana.

“As I begin my time here as the representative of the American people, I am impressed by the history of collaboration and exchange between our two countries. Together we have blazed new trails in industry and commerce, fought to safeguard the local biodiversity, and made strides to improve the health and safety of all Guyanese. As we work together to achieve our common goals, we are mindful of the ever-increasing importance of Guyana within the larger Caribbean region, as a leader in economic growth and in combatting organized crime.”

With the rooted mutual respect between the two countries, there will be continued emphasis on citizen security and territorial integrity of Guyana’s borders. Guyana is committed in ensuring that the Caribbean and South America remains a zone of peace. Guyana looks forward to the continuous support of the US to protect its economy and territory in areas such as trafficking in persons, weapons and narcotics, money laundering, illegal migration and environmental hazards.

“The capabilities of criminal cartels could exceed those small states such as Guyana. We must seek support through partnership with other states which have an interest in preserving the Caribbean and South American continent.”

Ambassador Lynch is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and holds masters degrees from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and the National War College. She most recently served as the Acting Assistant Administrator for USAID’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). She served as the Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for LAC; USAID Mission Director in Iraq; and the Director of the Office of Iraq and Arabian Peninsula Affairs in USAID’s Middle East Bureau.

Quinn tells GCCI- Improve trade with UK

British High Commissioner Greg Quinn said there is scope for improved trading relations with the United Kingdom and urged the local business community to play its part in making this a reality.

In recent years, Guyana’s exports to the UK have averaged US$100 million per annum, whilst its imports from the UK have averaged about US$50 million per annum. “Those figures should, in my view, be significantly higher and I really want to see our trading relationship grow. I also want to see business to business links across all sectors expand,” Quinn told the annual general meeting of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI).

 

Megafields – Reformed laws for oil industry

SInce 2015 no petroleum legislation has been updated. A regulatory framework for the oil sector is not being implemented. On this premise Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram, concluded that the government seems no less or no more equipped, informed, and prepared for dealing with events when first oil comes on stream next year. On reforming the required legislation, he believes that the government does not know what to do and how to get it done. Laws and regulations which need updating include: the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission Act; the Mining Act; the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act, No 3 of 1986; the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act Regulations, 1986; the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act, 1998, Chapter 65:10; the Environmental Protection Act; and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Chapter 99:01.

“This state of affairs leaves Guyana dangerously exposed in terms of regulating, monitoring and supervising the sector. The oil companies cannot be blamed for this but they must be wondering what really is going on and the government seems missing in action. It is over three years since I pointed out the absence of any new legislation. Our legislation is over 30 years old. And the Natural Resource Fund Legislation cannot be confused with petroleum legislation and regulations.”

The Government is yet to give guidance on the status quo surrounding the Petroleum Commission Bill. “The government has not indicated, so far as I know, whether it is still pursuing this Commission or whether it is satisfied that it has set up a mere Department of Energy…”
The government had to address the issue of the No-Confidence Motion. Everything has been put on pause while the oil companies continue their plans and preparations with very little guidance or direction. , “We cannot ignore the fact that we are now only months away from first oil and the government seems no less or no more equipped, informed and prepared for dealing with the events that are to unfold.”
Ram was critical of the fact there is no Depletion Policy or a National Oil Spill Contingency Plan in place. “The fact that we have no plan is dangerous from an environmental perspective, from a monitoring perspective, and from a regulatory perspective.. we are walking into the dark when it comes to the oil sector without even a torch light in hand.” President Granger handpicked Dr. Mark Bynoe to head the Energy Department in the Ministry of the Presidency. It is yet to say how it will address the issues facing the sector.and gave no pronouncements or indication as to whether and how that department is addressing weaknesses.

Regulating oil sector

With first oil around the corner, one prominent lawyer, Sanjeev Datadin, says Guyana’s legislative framework is woefully inadequate to regulate a sector expected to dwarf traditional sectors in revenue.
At a Nations School of Business and Management seminar the Attorney-at-Law noted that Guyana lags in its preparations to regulate the oil and gas sector compared to other countries, a criticism the Government faces.
Since ExxonMobil discovered oil in the Stabroek block in 2015, just one piece of legislation specifically for the oil and gas sector, the Natural Resources Fund Bill, has been completed and assented to.

“ …England has had at least 3,000 pages of legislation.. the basics. Then they had subsidiary legislation..another 10,000. At present, we have 60 pages. .. I understand the whole argument of quality, quantity and all the rest. But we have a petroleum Act which is from the 1930s. And .. the (1986) Act. The 1930s one was when the first sort of exploration first took place,” Datadin explained.

Little has been done to regulate the sector until the passage of this Act. He noted the steps other countries have taken to protect resources and people. In Trinidad, foreign oil companies are limited in ownership of land.
“Nothing else has happened, until (1986) when we passed the Petroleum Act. Now, that Act really only provides for licensing, how you issue licences; it has nothing to do with the myriad of issues you have to deal with. We have a ‘production agreement. Now, these things have to be regulated. Countries have put in their legislation what can and cannot be in the contract… everything you must have and cannot have, and they have made it law.”

This protects countries and individual ministers from being corrupted, as there are legislative limits to what concessions they can agree to give to an oil company. “If an oil company comes and has a one-on-one meeting with the Department of Energy or a Minister in charge, they can’t influence them to give them a better deal. .. the opportunity for corruption is drastically reduced. I believe that’s the only way to protect fragile territories like ours. If we can’t agree to royalties (of) less than seven per cent, then two per cent would have never happened. We like to say that every time there’s a bad deal there’s usually a (saying) that someone was paid. That may or may not be true, but these companies have budgets larger than our country, and you have to understand what economic pressure is.”

After its 10th discovery of oil in the Stabroek Block, ExxonMobil estimated the recoverable resource in the block to be 5 billion oil equivalent barrels. At US$50 a barrel, that equates to well over US$200 billion. Exxon has since found oil in two other wells. An independent assessment, or competent persons report, found that 2.9 billion barrels of oil exist in the Orinduik block. All of this will represent a monetary windfall which will be saved and invested through a Natural Resources Fund.

A green paper on the fund was laid in the National Assembly. Government released the draft Natural Resources Fund Bill of 2018, which had, among other things, proposed the creation of a 22-member Public Accountability and Oversight Committee that would oversee the management of the fund and provide checks and balances. President Granger assented to this bill on January 23, 2019.

A contract was inked on October 7, 2016 between the Government and ExxonMobil and its partners in the Stabroek block. In the renegotiated contract, Guyana agreed to a two per cent royalty for every barrel of oil, a 50 per cent share of profit oil, and a US$18 million signing bonus. Out of the contract, Guyana secured agreement to fund social and environmental projects. Exxon will contribute US$300,000 per year to this fund. The sums roll over, and the company together with Government will determine which projects to fund. The contract sets aside another US$300,000 per year to ensure Guyanese personnel are trained at local or overseas universities and conferences.

Guyana must ensure that these extremely generous provisions do not succumb to greed.

REFINING AND MARKETING

Guyana is poised to market and sell its own portion of crude oil, as opposed to having ExxonMobil sell on the country’s behalf. The Energy Department is planning how the oil will be sold in the best markets based on profitability.

In 2017, the Natural Resources Minister said that the sale of its share of petroleum to local buyers could be considered. Government wanted a profitable model.

Cabinet is reviewing the findings of a feasibility study by Hartree Partners which revealed that the cost to construct an oil refinery in Guyana would be US$5 billion. It would be too costly for the Government to invest in an oil refinery. Guyana would be destroying over half the value of its investment the day it commissioned a refinery.

The company compared economic models in other oil-producing countries with the scale and complexity of Guyana’s potential oil market and considered expert opinions from oil and engineering companies to propose the recommendations.

Foreign investors expressed interest in establishing an oil refinery in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), with the intention of providing technical skills training to the workforce and education sector. US-based Ghanian Quincy Sintim-Aboagye who owns an oil company and Alfred Fafali Adagbedu Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Seaweld Engineering Limited in Ghana, led the team in discussions on prospects for the initiative with stakeholders of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) in Linden. The team expressed intentions to build a hotel and develop local farming. The meeting discussed the possibility of training at the Linden Technical Institute (LTI). The investors offered opportunities for job creation and training in areas such as welding. Other benefits are cheaper gas and electricity prices with additional interests in crude oil, bauxite expansion, the establishment of an industrial complex .

Guyana, headquarters of Caricom, soon with ample oil output to supply Pointe-a-Pierre refinery, can revive the Trinidad assets for the benefit of the region and become an international energy hub with Trinidad. A regional outlook needs a leap of the imagination not beyond the wit of man. There is thus a regional solution in Trinidad where Gov­ern­ment will sell Paria Fu­el Trad­ing Com­pa­ny and is open to of­fers. Paria is a part of the re­struc­tur­ing of Petrotrin and if the re­struc­tur­ing is go­ing to be a restart of the re­fin­ery and in­volves any in­put for Paria, the re­fin­ery could operate. Paria Fu­el’s role was to en­sure the coun­try and regions that de­pend­ed on the re­struc­tured Petrotrin for fu­els such as gas and diesel would have a sup­ply. Gov­ern­ment is keen to see­ the re­fin­ery in op­er­a­tion but it was too cost­ly giv­en the debts it had in­curred. Petrotrin ceased op­er­a­tions at the end of No­vem­ber 2018. Government will sell it if the right bid­der of­fers the right price and will do every­thing busi­ness-like to get the re­fin­ery back in­to op­er­a­tion, if the pri­vate sec­tor re­lieved it of the bur­den. Pro­pos­als had not yet been tabled for the re­fin­ery. Some­­one may see Pointe-a-Pierre as a gold mine. A po­ten­tial own­er of the re­fin­ery may not have the same chal­lenges the Gov­ern­ment faced. A new own­er un­der new arrange­ments will have to find oil and mon­ey and do all of those things dif­fer­ent­ly.

24 technicians join ExxonMobil Team

  Technicians of ExxonMobil Guyana team and representatives of the company

TWENTY-FOUR Guyanese operations and maintenance technicians joined the ExxonMobil Guyana team, the U.S oil giant announced.  Upon completion of their training, the technicians will be assigned to the Liza Destiny Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, due in Guyana at the end of the third quarter of 2019, ahead of first oil in 2020.

The group of new employees, which includes two females, will receive one week of orientation in Georgetown before departing for 18 months of training at Cape Breton University, Canada. A significant portion of that time will be spent on advanced skills training in four areas – operations, electrical, instrumentation and mechanical – as well as specific training for oil and gas production operations.

ExxonMobil Guyana’s development model for operations and maintenance employees is designed for trainees to advance from Technician I to III over time. The intent is to enhance their capacity to such a level that they are able to replace an experienced international worker. The technicians join over one thousand Guyanese already working on Liza Phase One project activities. In early 2020, recruitment of the next set of 50 technicians will commence.

The Stabroek Block comprises 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres). ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited operates and holds 45 per cent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Limited holds 30 per cent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds 25 per cent interest. 12 discoveries were made in the Stabroek Block by ExxonMobil and its partners. The gross recoverable resource stands at approximately 5.5 billion oil-equivalent barrels.

Harvey Gulf

US company CEO says “We will work with you’’
Optimistic that it can deliver a skills transfer system in the provision of marine logistics services to equip locals to run its operations here, United States-based marine transportation company Harvey Gulf has opened an office in Guyana.

“We are hiring locals so that they can answer our questions,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Shane Guidry. The company currently specialises in providing Offshore Supply and Multi-Purpose Support Vessels.

Renewable energy

The Guyana government opened talks on constructing a renewable energy power plant with a major Japanese solar energy company which has executed 3,100 megawatt power plants in Japan and Korea.

Investors from the United States, Japan, Korea, the Malaysian Group, Smart City Clearing Corporation, and Capital Fund met the Ministry of Public Infrastructure’s Chief Executive Officer of the Hinterland Electrification Company Inc., to discuss investments in renewable energy power plants.

The Ministry hopes to fulfill the vision to reduce dependency on fossil fuels for energy generation by achieving close to 100% renewables by 2025 through a diversified renewable energy infrastructure including biomass, solar, wind and hydropower. Guyana wants to accomplish a green economy by 2030 in keeping with the Framework for its Green State Development Strategy under which “Energy–Transition to Renewable Energy and Greater Energy” Independence is one of seven central themes.

University of Guyana

The University of Toronto gifted the UG Faculty of Engineering and Technology 23 second-hand Leitz Polarizing microscopes valued at over $12 million. At a presentation ceremony at Turkeyen Campus were representatives of the University of Toronto, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and students and staff of UG.

UG’s Vice-Chancellor thanked the University of Toronto for their generous donation which would go a long way towards improving and assisting over 140 students of the petroleum, mining and engineering programmes .

Professor Dr Daniel Schulze of the University of Toronto, told attendees how pleasing it was to donate the microscopes. Though used for over 20 years at the Canadian university, they are in excellent condition.

A student from the Faculty of Engineering and Technology expressed thanks to Dr Schulze. “Being a student at UG, the microscopes would have made a big difference in technology courses last year, so my vote of thanks is as much for students that come after us as it is for students going forward.” She mentioned the need to increase the students’ knowledge of the equipment. Deputy Vice-Chancellor of UG Paloma Mohamed said a one-year-old $100 million grant from the GGMC helped with shipping costs for the microscopes for the Petroleum Department.