Latest update April 20th, 2024 12:59 AM
Nov 21, 2021 News
Kaieteur News – Ryan Pereira, the lone Guyanese investor in charge of Ratio Petroleum, one of the two initial owners of the highly prospective Kaieteur Block, is now expanding his portfolio in the oil sector. Just recently, it was announced that the local businessman teamed up with Trinidad’s CIC Insurance Brokers Limited for the establishment of CIC Insurance Brokers (Guyana) Limited to provide the industry with leading risk advisory and risk transfer products. For this partnership, Pereira utilised Zarc Group of Companies, another company he manages.
Kaieteur News understands that the latest alliance will allow for the provision of general insurance, employee benefits, and risk management. Commercial insurance in the manufacturing, financial, hospitality and retail industries as well as insurance for casualties and risk management will also be provided too.
In an advertisement published in the daily newspapers it was noted that CIC Guyana is determined to be a superlative full-service insurance brokerage company given that it will be premised on the combined expertise of the two companies. Kaieteur News understands that Trinidad’s CIC brings 52 years of insurance brokerage experience to the table while Zarc brings its proven track record, knowledge, and understanding of the local business environment.
This newspaper understands that the new partners have already established a multi-million dollar headquarters at Lot A52 Barima Avenue, Bel Air Park.
The company also has a website: www.cic.co.gy where it notes that together with its global partners, CIC Guyana can design programmes that cater for protection in the oil and gas sector. In this regard, the company was keen to note that the complex nature of Upstream, Midstream, and Downstream operations as well as Power Generation and Distribution require experienced individuals versed in the wide range of products and solutions available to cover these facilities.
With this in mind, it noted that the firm’s energy specialists are at the forefront of advising energy companies worldwide on the wide range of risks they face. “Whether your focus is exploration, construction, production, or refining and marketing – single-location operations, new projects, or a diverse portfolio of integrated assets – our energy experts offer bespoke risk management solutions,” the company stated while adding that some of these solutions include the following policies for the oil and power distribution sector: Material Damage All Risks/Property All Risks; Onshore Property – Offshore Property; Operators Extra Expense; Control Of Wells; General Liability/Excess Liability; Pollution Liability; Environmental Liability; Business Interruption; Boiler Explosion and Machinery Breakdown; and Political Violence, Sabotage and Terrorism.
It states too that the company can include services under other policies which include: Risk Engineering, Valuation Surveys, and Training.
With respect to the Trinidadian partner, the company’s website: https://www.cic.co.tt/notes that over the years, CIC has developed long-standing relationships with many of the leading Global Insurance Brokers including Alesco, Aon, Lockton, Marsh, THB and Willis just to name a few. It states, “When our clients require insurance programmes or covers not available in the local market, we utilise our global relationships to deliver comprehensive and competitive solutions through reinsurance placements specially designed to cover the needs of their growing businesses.”
KAIETEUR BLOCK INTEREST
The Kaieteur Block, which spans 13,500 km2, holds a gross, estimated prospective resource of over 2.1 billion barrels of crude. To grasp a better understanding of the size of the block, it is bigger than three of the founding members of CARICOM: Jamaica (10,991 km²), Trinidad and Tobago (5,131 km²), and Barbados (431 km²).
The massive offshore concession was awarded in April 2015 to Pereira’s Cataleya Energy Corporation (CEC) which was formerly Ratio Energy Limited and Ratio Guyana Limited, a subsidiary of Ratio Petroleum Energy Limited Partnership headquartered in Israel (Ratio Petroleum).
Over the years, the original block owners, Pereira in particular, have faced several criticisms for being awarded the offshore concession by the Donald Ramotar administration. There were concerns that the block was awarded to Pereira and his partner who had no known track record in the industry as deepwater oil explorers and developers. There were also calls for the award process to be investigated.
But since assuming office, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo who is also considered the local oil czar has categorically stated that the process, in his view, was above board and that it was free of corruption. He had also said that the award of the Kaieteur Block was in keeping with the nation’s oil laws which state: “No licence shall be granted to an individual unless he is a citizen of Guyana or to a body of persons unless it is a company; or a corporation.” The Vice President as well as President Irfaan Ali are also on record as lauding the inclusion of Guyanese investors in the upstream industry as they are of the firm belief that locals ought not to be excluded from any aspect of the multi-billion dollar sector.
Subsequent to the Upper Cretaceous play-opening at the Liza-One discovery in May 2015, a farm-in agreement executed with ExxonMobil, along with various other arrangements, saw the effective date of the Kaieteur Petroleum Agreement being amended from April 2015 to February 2017.
As a result of the farm-in, the Kaieteur Block is operated by ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Production and Exploration Guyana Limited (EEPGL), in partnership with CEL, Ratio Guyana Limited and a subsidiary of Hess Corporation.
EEPGL has since applied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be authorised to drill 12 wells in the Kaieteur Block which is located in deep water over 200 kilometres northeast of the coastline of Georgetown, Guyana, and adjacent to the northern boundaries of the Stabroek and Canje blocks. Approval from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Guyana Geology and Mines Commission will also be obtained.
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
Apr 20, 2024
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