Hess Corp indicated the consortium that controls Guyana's oil production, of which it is a member, is prepared to relinquish 20% of the Stabroek oil block, but not any areas where it now produces or intends to produce oil in the future.
An Exxon Mobil-led consortium controls the 6.6 million acres (26,800 sq km) Stabroek block which has been responsible for a series of massive discoveries in Guyana.
Talking at an energy conference on Wednesday, Hess Corp's chief executive officer John Hess said there has been some misinformation around the production sharing contract (PSC) agreement with Guyana.
Guyana has said it intends to claw back 20% of the block and may offer that portion to other international oil companies in order to lessen the consortium's control over the country's oil resources. But that was always a requirement, which the joint venture agreed with the Guyana government when signing the PSC, Hess said.
However, he added the 20% was not going to be in the "prospective areas, not going to be where we have exploration plan, not going to be future expiration plan, not going to be where we have the developments in production".
Hess said the Guyanese government has assured the consortium the country will not amend the PSC. "They've been very clear to us and Exxon that they're going to honor the PSC that we have in the country and that they want us to develop their oil resources as fast as possible," he added.
(Reuters - Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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