Guyana opens bidding on 14 new offshore oil, gas blocks

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Guyana has opened bidding on 14 new offshore oil and gas blocks, hoping to capitalize on interest in lucrative fields that are expected to make the South American nation a major oil producer. Guyana is home to one of the largest oil discoveries in the last decade. In 2019, two years after the find was announced, Exxon Mobil lifted the first batch of oil from the seabed off Guyana’s coast. A consortium led by Exxon has since successfully drilled more than 30 wells near the blacks that are currently being auctioned. President Irfan Ali said the bidding period will run from Friday to May of next year.