Guyana narrows search for oil marketer: Update

Adds shortlist of bidders.

Guyana has shortlisted 19 bidders to make technical and financial proposals for a one-year contract to market the government's share of Liza crude from the deepwater Stabroek block, the energy department said today.

The list was drawn from 34 bidders that applied when the tender closed on 21 April. The shortlist includes ExxonMobil that spearheaded the country's deepwater oil play, along with Shell, BP, Norway's Equinor, France's Total, Swiss-based traders Vitol and Glencore and Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras.

The successful bidder will handle a minimum of five 1mn bl cargoes of 32.1°API Liza crude in 2020-21.

The shortlisted companies "will progress at the next phase of the procurement process and exclusively and at the same time, receive the request for proposal," the energy department said.

Guyana sold a 1mn bl of crude to Shell in February and another 1mn bl in May in a restricted opening tender. Shell is scheduled to lift the government's third 1mn bl crude entitlement in July.

Guyana's oil development is taking place against the backdrop of disputed parliamentary elections on 2 March.

The country's elections commission had declared the ruling PNC party-led coalition as the winner, but preliminary results from a recount gave most votes to the main opposition PPP party – a result the coalition said was caused by fraud.

The country's final court of appeal – the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice – will determine next week an injunction filed by the PPP about the votes that should be used to decide the winner.

The PPP said it would increase the country's take in production-sharing contracts signed after ExxonMobil's revised watershed 2016 contract.

By Canute James