Georgetown: Saudi Aramco, the state oil company of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has been awarded the tender to market Guyana’s next oil lift.
“Following a procurement process for the Provision of Marketing Services for the Cooperative Republic of Guyana Oil Entitlement from the Liza Destiny FPSO Vessel, the Government of Guyana recently evaluated and approved the nomination of Aramco Trading Limited (ATL) to market Guyana’s 4th lift for 2021, scheduled for September 21 – 22,” the outlet said in a report.
The choice was made out of 15 bidders, including Shell, Hess and the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago.
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat as iterating Government’s commitment to getting the best agreements for the country. It said he pledged to maintain the highest levels of compliance and transparency to ensure all Guyanese benefit.
Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo had said that the Government was hoping to ink a deal with a crude marketer for an entire year. The duration of Aramco’s contract is unknown.
Jagdeo had said that India had shown interest in marketing Guyana’s crude.
“They submitted a bid and they were the best bid in the last shipment. And it was successfully concluded.”
He said the Government decided not to have a bilateral agreement, advising India to join the bidding process like the others.
“Our relationship with India at the government to government level has always been friendly, but on the economic side, we observe the principles of getting the best deal for Guyana.
The Vice President said it opted not to have a bilateral agreement to avoid accusations of racism or corruption from the political opposition.
“You know, APNU in this racist mode that they’re in, they always believe that if you do anything with India, you’re doing it because of race,” Dr. Jagdeo said.
