Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman said that the government is still in the process of finalising ExxonMobil’s production licence.
He disclosed that government should pronounce on the matter in the next few weeks.
Trotman made the announcement in his opening remarks at the Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GEITI) capacity building symposium which was held at the Pegasus Hotel, Kingston, Georgetown today (Wednesday, May 31, 2017).
The government had undertaken a review of the contract which dates back to 1999.
Despite calls for the full disclosure of the arrangement with ExxonMobil and its partners, Trotman had posited that such a revelation would not be in the best interest of the nation.
The existing contract is a 50-50 partnership Production Sharing Agreement (PSA). Exxon and its partners will be allowed to recover the cost invested in the offshore production before the equal sharing of the profit oil.
Exxon and its partners, Hess Corp and CNOOC Nexen, made its significant oil find back in 2015 after drilling the Liza Field in the Stabroek Block located about 120 miles offshore Guyana.
The oil giant made several major oil discoveries after that, creating waves in the global industry.
The oil company is currently in the developing phases, with oil production projected for 2020.
