President Dr Irfaan Ali on Tuesday said the Government of India has expressed its interest in the long-term purchase of Guyana’s oil, for which a proposal is expected to be submitted to the Government of Guyana for consideration.
President Ali, during a press conference at State House, made it clear that government has not agreed to this deal and will first assess the proposal.
He pointed out that, “this is nothing new, India has made it very clear that they have an interest in being one of the purchasers of Guyana’s oil…The technical teams will work and see what proposals India would forward.”
Oil ships operating offshore Guyana produced 102 lifts of one million barrels of crude oil and of that number, the government got 13 lifts and has earned more than US$1 billion in revenues from 11 of the 13 lifts.
This year, 136 lifts are expected and Guyana will get 17 of those lifts.
“It is not only in terms of lift, India’s interest is to see how they can work with us on the entire eco system surrounding our oil and gas,” the head of state highlighted.
President Ali recently led a delegation including members of the private sector to India where the two countries discussed areas of cooperation including in the oil and gas sector.
The Guyanese head of state used the opportunity to encourage the South Asian state and its private sector to participate in Guyana’s auction process of 14 oil blocks.
“We made it clear that we are examining government to government relationship also, and government to government opportunities for exploration and production,” the president noted.
As part of efforts to develop Guyana’s oil and gas resources, in December 2022, the government launched the first auction for the development of 14 oil blocks in shallow and deep-water areas.
The bidding round is expected to close by April 14 and new contracts will be awarded by the end of May 2023.
