Penalties incurred, Ghanaian company could lose oil block over unpaid signing bonus

Ghanaian oil company Cybele Energy risks losing an offshore Guyana oil block after failing to pay a US$17 million signing bonus — a sum that has since grown with penalties incurred.

Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat confirmed this on Tuesday on the sidelines of the 2026 Local Content Summit in Georgetown.

"Our lawyers have written to them stating clearly that the signing bonus must be paid," Bharrat said, noting the payment was due within 30 days of signing the exploration agreement with the Government of Guyana.

Cybele Energy inked a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with the Guyanese Government in December 2025 for the shallow-water Block S7, which is located 50 km from ExxonMobil’s Liza Phase 1 and 2 fields with an estimated 400 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent. The deal came with a US$17 million signing bonus. Per Guyana’s new oil management regime, the minimum signing bonus for shallow blocks is US$10 million.

Bharrat said the company now intends to pay 30% of the bonus in the first week of June, with the remainder to follow in about six weeks. Late payment has already incurred roughly US$4 million in penalties. If the bonus goes unpaid, the company risks losing the block.

Beyond the signing bonus, the Natural Resources Minister believes the company may still be able to fulfil its work programme once a suitable operator is found.

Cybele Energy is an African-owned exploration and production company operating across Africa, the United States, and the Caribbean. Its partnerships include Norway-based Well Expertise, known for its strong capacity in shallow-water operations. The company’s geological leadership includes Segun Jebutu, former lead subsurface scientist for more than 25 ExxonMobil wells offshore Guyana.

Block S7, awarded during Guyana’s first competitive auction in 2023, lies within a key oil fairway that extends toward Suriname. Twenty percent of the block overlaps the Repsol Catapa-1 3D seismic survey, and the first firm exploration well is expected within 12 months of the PSA signing.

‍