GEORGETOWN, Sept 13 (Reuters) – Guyana on Wednesday received bids for eight of 14 offshore oil and gas exploration blocks offered in its first auction, including from groups formed by Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), according to the government and documents seen by Reuters.
The South American country wants to quickly expand its energy industry and recruit a wider range of developers to counterbalance a consortium led by Exxon that controls all oil production.
The auction, which garnered global attention amid the discovery of more than 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas resources by the Exxon group in recent years, had been delayed several times since 2022.
The Ministry of Natural Resources confirmed that Exxon, Hess Corp (HES.N) and China’s CNOOC (0883.HK) had bid as a group, while a government document also listed a separate consortium with TotalEnergies, Qatar Energy (QATPE.UL) and Malaysia’s Petronas (PETRA.UL).