Some oil blocks will be reserved for future gov’t partnerships – Pres. Ali

As Guyana prepares to auction its remaining oil blocks this year, President Dr. Irfaan Ali announced that some of those blocks will be set aside for government-to-government partnerships in the future.

At a press conference at the British High Commissioner’s residence in Georgetown on Tuesday, the Head of State revealed that a new policy mix vis-à-vis Guyana’s oil and gas resources is being pursued.

Instead of auctioning all of the remaining blocks, an undisclosed number will be kept for state partnerships.

“As you know, we have some blocks that we are going to auction off very soon.

“… and we have some blocks that are set aside for government-to-government partnerships and we are looking at all of our strategic partners with these blocks,” President Ali said.

He alluded to the United Kingdom (UK) being a potential partner that will benefit from this arrangement. He also highlighted that the two countries are seeking to deepen cooperation in the energy sector.

Asked for additional details on this new arrangement, Dr. Ali said that a “full elaboration” of the plan will be provided “at the appropriate time”.

“That could be in a few days’ time,” he said afterwards.

The much-anticipated auction of the blocks was scheduled for the end of September but it has not occurred yet. An auction will essentially see the highest bidder gain control of a specific area to search for and possibly produce oil and gas.

President Ali did not provide a new date for the auction.

Previously, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo explained that the government needed to institute key provisions to facilitate the auction since Guyana’s laws do not allow for this.

The blocks that will be up for auction include those areas that have been relinquished by oil companies searching for oil offshore.