Guyana gearing up to begin selling oil

Guyana is putting arrangements in place to ensure the smooth sale of the country’s share of crude oil when production begins in the first quarter of next year, Dr Mark Bynoe, Director of the Department of Energy said Monday.

Liza Destiny, the Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, is expected to arrive in Guyanese waters in the first week of September, two weeks ahead of schedule.

The vessel will see the production of an estimated 120, 000 barrels of oil per day. Guyana is getting ready for when that production starts.

Dr Bynoe noted that on arrival, the operations will be to moor and anchor the vessel; and then the hook up of the water injection lines and the production umbilicals will begin.

He said that the production of oil is still anticipated for the first quarter of next year.

All sales of Guyana’s entitlement of crude oil will be via Free on Board, Dr Bynoe said, meaning the crude will be sold to the buyer at the exit point of the FPSO and the buyer is responsible for shipping said crude.

According to Bynoe, this activity is expected to be undertaken every 8-10 days.

Dr Bynoe said this will require a smoothly run process; as such, he said the Department of Energy is working with its sister agencies, such as the Guyana National Bureau of Standards, and the operator, ExxonMobil, the Immigration authorities, and the Guyana Revenue Authority and others to ensure that such a process is put in place from day one.

Dr Bynoe said that it may be necessary for Guyana to seek third-party assistance to ensure all is in place.

“One needs to contextualise that the pace at which the sector has evolved has been phenomenal; and while we recognize that this is a new sector to us, it is important to us that oftentimes we receive the requisite support as our own capacities are built up,” Dr Bynoe stated.

The first phase of oil production could see the extraction of 500 million barrels of oil.