Oil-rich Guyana opens bids for new offshore blocks as it seeks to boost production

By BERT WILKINSON
Associated Press

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — The government of Guyana has opened bids for 14 offshore oil blocks available for exploration and development as the South American country seeks to ramp up oil production. Six companies and groups submitted bids for the available blocks late Tuesday after the bidding process was postponed three times to provide more time for those interested to evaluate the blocks’ data. No one knows what the 14 blocks located miles off Guyana’s coast contain, but ExxonMobil has successfully drilled more than 30 wells near them in a country now considered one of the world’s biggest offshore oil producers.