HOUSTON (Reuters) – U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil (NYSE:) and partners are continuing to negotiate with Guyana’s government on the terms for developing a shallow-water oil block, an Exxon spokesperson said on Monday.
Exxon, Hess (NYSE:) and CNOOC (NYSE:) won offshore block S8 in a bidding round launched in late 2022 by President Irfaan Ali’s administration.
The group remains interested in the block and talks are continuing, an Exxon Mobil spokesperson said via email. The spokesperson declined to disclose whether it aimed to use the block for carbon capture and storage, or for oil and gas exploration.
The South American country’s vice president had said last month that the group had withdrawn from the auction after the government was uninterested in a carbon sequestration project. But on Thursday, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said Exxon had since written to the government on interest in the block.
“They said there might have been a misunderstanding, they have not walked away from” negotiations, Jagdeo said in response to a request for additional auction details at his weekly briefing. “Let’s see how it goes.”
Eight of the 14 oil and gas blocks Guyana offered in the round received bids, including by large oil firms Petronas, CNOOC and TotalEnergies (EPA:). Jagdeo said he expected an agreement with TotalEnergies in the near future.