Guyana looking to Trinidad to help develop its oilfields

Guyana says it will seek advice from oil-rich Trinidad and Tobago to help develop its fledgling energy sector as the country moves to drill its first offshore well within months.

A government statement said that President Bharrat Jagdeo remains confident of Guyana prospering as an oil and gas industry.

The London-based company, Tullow Oil, is expected to commence drilling in April in the Guyana basin and the government statement said the British company "has invested huge in the Jaguar Well through a joint venture with REPSOL, a leading international oil exploration company out of Spain".

It said that the Tullow/REPSOL joint venture "joins the list of reputable foreign companies racing for the search of oil offshore Guyana. Among them is CGX of Canada".

Jagdeo said Guyana will be seeking as much advice as possible, particularly in the area of development and monitoring of the oil and gas industry, and will be turning to Trinidad and Tobago, its "closest neighbour in the Caribbean community, which has a wealth of expertise in this area".

The government statement said that Trinidad and Tobago is the Caribbean's largest oil and natural gas producer, providing 154,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

"It is anticipated that within the first five years of the impending industry in Guyana all the services and capacity will have to be imported and augmented by contractors and other local counterparts," the statement said.

Jagdeo, speaking at the commissioning of the Diamond branch of Republic Bank on the weekend, said that the spin-off services that will be required from the oil industry call for much financing.

"The industry is expected to influence an explosion of auxiliary services, including in the tourism and hospitality sector, and with Region Six being the area closest to the drilling point an expanded East Canje reservoir scheme with a deep water harbour will be among several development plans earmarked," the statement said.

The statement said that "Guyana is the second most-attractive under-explored basin in the world, with a potential of 15.2 billion barrels of oil, and were a discovery to be made production targets would be estimated at 50 million barrels per year. Additionally, Government would be receiving a cash flow of 53 per cent, and the oil company 43 per cent."

- CMC