The government of Grenada has exploration, development and production agreements with Global Petroleum Group over its failure to meet its obligations over an 18-year period, it said in a statement on Monday, and it is now seeking new partners.
The government granted Global Petroleum Group a license to 11 offshore blocks to explore for oil and gas in 2008, then a development license and production sharing agreement in 2013 related to four of those blocks.
Finally an MoU was signed in 2016 for the remaining seven blocks conditional on the commercial development of the first four.
Global Petroleum Group never fulfilled that obligation and on April 29 this year, the government terminated the 2016 MoU and on Aug. 1 revoked the development license and production sharing agreement for the first four blocks.
The incoming government in 2022 established a working group of Grenadians to assess potential hydrocarbon resources and how they could be developed. The group has been engaging with GPG to obtain more knowledge.
In the process, the government discovered a number of breaches by GPG, including a failure to do the work it had undertaken or to prepare a development plan to the required standard along with a failure to show it had the funds needed for development work.
Despite correspondence and a meeting with GPG, it did not rectify the breaches and the government ended the contracts with it. GPG did not immediately reply to questions sent byabout the allegations.
Grenada is now working to attract "transparent, credible" investment, its statement said.
"Grenada has acted lawfully, responsibly, and in the national interest," said the Attorney General of Grenada, Claudette Joseph.
"After eighteen years, and after every reasonable opportunity given to GPG, the Government had a duty to the people of Grenada to bring these agreements to an end. Grenada deserves better, and we are moving forward with confidence and with respect for the rule of law."