The Department of Energy (DE) has awarded a consultancy to Bayphase Ltd for the evaluation of plans for the development of ExxonMobil’s Payara oil field.
Payara would be the third of ExxonMobil’s developments in the Stabroek Block. The Liza-1 and Liza-2 have already been approved.
In a statement yesterday, the DE said that it successfully completed the evaluation of eleven Expressions of Interest (EOI’s) from international firms for the Payara consultancy. The EOI’s received in October 2019, were for Consultancy Services to support the Oil and Gas Project Development Evaluation for the Payara Field.
The release said that a team of evaluators largely exclusive to the DE, selected the highest ranked evaluated firm, Bayphase Geologists, Engineers and Investment Analysts Limited (Bayphase Ltd). The firm was then invited to submit a Technical and Financial Proposal.
The release said that the Combined Evaluation Report and the recommendation for Contract Award were subsequently approved by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board. The Contract began on December 30, 2019 and will last for four months.
Under this consultancy, the DE statement said that Bayphase will provide advisory services and technical support to the Government via the DE as Guyana seeks to rapidly build out its in-house technical capacity. The government has been criticized for allowing ExxonMobil to steam ahead with plans for Liza-1 and Liza-2 without any restraint.
The DE release said that the project covers such areas as an in-depth review of the Payara field development plan (FDP), environmental impact assessment (EIA) and supporting documents. It also covers on-the-job training for Guyanese and preparation of draft national FDP guidelines. Amongst beneficiaries of training from Bayphase will be the Environmental Protection Agency, DE and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission Petroleum Division.
“It is expected that this consultancy will help to advance the DE’s strategy in rapidly building national capacity and in levelling the playing field between state actors and the highly experienced international private sector operating in Guyana’s petroleum sector”, the release added.
