Guyanese to be updated on current oil reserves in one week – VP Jagdeo

Jul 28, 2024 News

Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

Kaieteur News – Guyanese will be updated on the state of the country’s oil reserves in one week’s time after the government receives its second quarter report from ExxonMobil Guyana, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo disclosed on Thursday.

The Vice President was at the time responding to questions about the oil reserve posed by Kaieteur News. He was asked: “Over the past two years, we have been asking for an update of the reserves and S&P Global had come out with an estimation of 18.7 billion barrels. Can you comment on this and if it is true, can you give a reason as to why the government hasn’t been updating the public on this?”

In response, Jagdeo said, “So the last report we had… remember I told you every quarter we get a report… I hope you recall that… So the next report is due within a week, maybe one week from now so the last report at the level of reserve that we gave you,” he said.

Jagdeo explained that the quarterly report is due a week from Thursday (last) and, “Let’s see if this one will update the reserve. So when we get the new report which is a requirement that the company has to fulfill, that is quarterly report and it has to also in that report (will) speak about updating reserves, at that time, we will tell you what the figure is in the updated report.”

American analytics company S&P Global Inc. in its May report said that Guyana’s oil reserves has increased to approximately 18.7 billion barrels of recoverable resources since 2015. The report was compiled by S&P Global Commodity Insights analysts Fernanda Machado, Mariana Anjos and Jerry Jarvis.

“In just nine years, it has established itself as the fifth largest [basin] in Latin America, while continuing to grow,” the analysts said.

Production is expected to peak in 2037 at 2.3 million boe/d, with oil accounting for 90%, they said.

“High-quality, low-emissions and cost-effective barrels have already reached European markets,” the analysts said. “Currently, all gas production is associated with oil and reinjected, but the marketed gas is expected to increase.”

Concerns have been raised about the lack of transparency about the country’s oil reserves. The Government of Guyana has failed to regularly update the public on the status of the reserves and how they are being managed.

In April, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo explained that while the recent discoveries made by ExxonMobil are substantial, they do not represent a significant increase in the country’s overall oil reserves.

The last resource count, dated April 26, 2022, declared the recoverable resource for the Stabroek Block at nearly 11 billion oil-equivalent barrels. Since then, Exxon announced eight discoveries, the Seabob-1 and Kiru-Kiru-1 wells, Sailfin-1, Yarrow-1, Fangtooth SE, Lancetfish-1, and Lancetfish-2 wells, along with the recently announced Bluefin discovery.

It was revealed that the Lancetfish discovery, which was made in April 2023, averaged some 100 million tons, which is equivalent to 746 million barrels, according to the conversion formula of the Independent Petroleum Association of America.

The Vice President told reporters, “Right now, there is an assumption that the information is being withheld, that’s false. I pointed out to you that we get these reports every three months and the reports that we have state what the reserves are and that has not changed materially over the past maybe year or so, so that’s not withholding information that we have.”

According to him, “Information about the reserves have been part of that report and it’s around the same 11 billion barrels. I’ve pointed out that…a discovery doesn’t mean that you know the size of the reserve. That to get to size of reserve, long after the discovery, you have to do appraisal, see the type of rock, a complex process before you get to the reserve.”

In contradiction to the VP’s words in May of this year Chairman of Wales Development Authority, Asgar Ally said that some 15 billion barrels of oil have already been discovered in the Stabroek Block.

This is despite Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo and ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) Country Manager, Alistair Routledge maintaining that the country’s resources have not significantly moved since the last update in 2022 when it was at 11 billion barrels.

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