US$17M signing bonus as Ghanaian firm gets shallow block offshore Guyana

Guyana’s rapidly growing oil and gas sector reached a new milestone on Tuesday with the signing of a new Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) between the Government of Guyana and Ghanaian oil company Cybele Energy for shallow-water Block S7.

The deal came with a US$17 million signing bonus. Per Guyana’s new oil management regime, the minimum signing bonus for shallow blocks is US$10 million.

Last month, a consortium of TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy, and PETRONAS signed the first PSA under the new fiscal regime for Block S4. The updated model, introduced in the 2022 licensing round, raises the royalty from 2 percent to 10 percent, caps cost recovery at 65 percent, and adds a 10 percent corporate tax, while maintaining a 50/50 profit-oil split after cost recovery.

The ceremony on Tuesday held at the Pegasus Corporate Suites in Georgetown represented more than just another PSA signing but the confidence in the leadership of a woman at the helm of a major exploration deal.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cybele Energy, Beatrice Mensah Tayui, who is also the principal signatory of the agreement, marked the first time a woman-led company from Africa has secured a petroleum block outside the continent.

For Tayui, her presence represented what she described as “the beginning and dawn of a new era” for both the industry and for women in energy.

“Today, Guyana has made history. Guyana has taken a bold step in the advancement of women,” Tayui stated.

She expressed heartfelt appreciation for the country’s leadership, saying Guyana had shown confidence in the talent and leadership of women in a sector where they are rarely placed at the forefront.

Acknowledging the disciplined work of the Ministry of Natural Resources, she described the PSA negotiation as one of the most seamless and rigorous processes her team had experienced. Tayui added that the moment also stands as a unifying one between the two nations.

“Today I stand as a symbol, uniting the nation of Ghana and the nation of Guyana…with ancestral ties bound, signed, sealed, and delivered,” she said.

The CEO pledged that Cybele would uphold the trust placed in the company and ensure responsible development of Block S7, which is located 50 km from ExxonMobil’s Liza Phase 1 and 2 fields with an estimated 400 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent.

“Block S7 provides a lot of opportunities, and the vision for S7 is quite robust,” Tayui said she committed to world-class standards, environmental responsibility, and strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes.

As a woman-led organisation, Cybele Energy plans to intentionally support the development of the girl child, women’s empowerment, and the participation of young people in STEM fields.

“Engineering and the oil industry are not often talked about for women, but we will actively participate. We may make history today with this signing, but I must not be the last,” Tayui stated.

She envisioned a future where young Guyanese women become lead well engineers, country managers, and according to her, when women are empowered, economies grow.

Cybele’s doors, Tayui added, will remain open to Guyanese who are willing to learn, participate, and grow alongside the company. However, when asked about a timeline for the startup of operations, Tayui said they are awaiting.

Meanwhile, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, noted that with this agreement, Guyana now has companies from every continent operating in its oil and gas sector. This he said is a sign of the country’s growing global influence.

He said the continued signing of PSAs demonstrates expanding opportunities for the local private sector, creating both direct and indirect jobs for Guyanese.

Cybele Energy is an African-owned exploration and production company operating across Africa, the United States, and the Caribbean. Its partnerships include Norway-based Well Expertise, known for its strong capacity in shallow-water operations. The company’s geological leadership includes Segun Jebutu, former lead subsurface scientist for more than 25 ExxonMobil wells offshore Guyana.

Block S7, awarded during Guyana’s first competitive auction in 2023, lies within a key oil fairway that extends toward Suriname. Twenty percent of the block overlaps the Repsol Catapa-1 3D seismic survey, and the first firm exploration well is expected within 12 months of the PSA signing.