Guyana loads second 1mn bl crude cargo

A second 1mn bl cargo of Liza crude allotted to Guyana's government loaded on 21 May, with a third scheduled to load in July, the energy department said.

The Bahamas-flagged Sonangol Namibe carrying the 32.1°API grade is currently en route to the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba, according to ship tracking data.

Guyana awarded the first three cargoes of its share of Liza production to Shell Western Supply and Trading in a restricted opening tender after production started in December 2019. The first 1mn bl allotment loaded in February 2020.

Liza is produced by an ExxonMobil-led consortium at the deepwater Stabroek block.

Guyana plans to issue a shortlist by 25 June of bidders selected to make technical and financial proposals for a one-year contract to market the government's share of crude after July. The list will be drawn from 34 bidders who applied when the tender closed on 21 April.

Guyana has produced more than 8mn bl of Liza crude so far. Output was 75,000-80,000 b/d in early May, according to the energy department.

A first quarter target of 120,000 b/d for the Liza field was pushed to early June as a result of delays caused by pandemic restrictions and the oil price crash.

Guyana's government has so far received $59.9mn from oil production, including a Brent-linked $55mn from its first lift and $4.9mn in royalties.

When production started in December, the government had projected earning $300mn from oil in 2020, but revenue projections were scaled back after oil prices collapsed in March.

On the political front, Guyana's elections commission will resume a vote recount today from disputed 2 March parliamentary elections, whose winner will shape the course of the country's oil development. The recount started 6 May and about 48pc of the votes had been recounted up to 24 May, the commission said.

By Canute James