Oil stakeholders are discussing the resumption of offshore exploration activities with the government now that an award in the arbitration proceedings in the dispute between Guyana and Suriname over their common maritime boundary is due to be announced shortly. The dispute is currently before the Hamburg-based United Nations International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, and an award is expected to be handed down by mid-year.
A GINA release recently quoted Kerry Sully, President and CEO of CGX Engery Inc which is one of the large licence holders for oil exploration in Guyana as saying: "It's pretty exciting. I think that this is exactly the place to be over the next five to ten years and it will become a significant part of your economy as you go forward from that period."
Dewi Jones, Exploration Manager, Trinidad/ Suriname/ Guyana Repsol YPF, was reported as saying: "The Guyana basin in general has a proven petroleum system, so we think there are many opportunities. With new technologies, we are hoping that we can eventually find some hydro-carbons here in Guyana." GINA said that both Jones and Sully met a week last Thursday with President Bharrat Jagdeo regarding their companies' hopes of finding commercial quantities of oil.
Commenting on the meeting, Sully said, "We had the opportunity to meet and discuss the oil exploration in the offshore area. Certainly we anticipate very soon exploration activities, once the dispute is over with Suriname."
According to GINA, Jones said that the decision of the Tribunal had caused exploratory works to be put on hold while a favourable response for Guyana was awaited. "As soon as this decision takes place, we as a company operating the Georgetown block will reactivate our operations," he said.
Sully explained that there remained a considerable amount of work to be done. "We had been processing seismic activities now that have been shutdown in 1999. We have identified some new targets. Once there is resolution, and hopefully resolution will go in Guyana's favour, there would be opportunity to contract seismic vessels," GINA quoted Sully as saying.
President Jagdeo cautioned that the government would not prejudge the decision by the Tribunal.
"We are hoping that as soon as we have a ruling on the arbitration, we may see exploratory activities in the particular block bordering Suriname. We do not want to prejudge the decision of the Tribunal, and at this point, we have to be very respectful, but we feel that as soon as the matter is settled, which should be shortly, there should be a boom in the interest for oil," Jagdeo said.
Other members of the Repsol YPF team at the meeting were Carlos E. Jimenez, Manager of Legal Affairs and Allan E. Kean, Senior Geophysicist, Caribbean Region. Present at the meeting were also acting Commissioner at the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) William Woolford and the Commission's Petroleum Division Manager Newell Dennison.