Above: Anadarko VP Ian Cooling meeting with President Bharrat Jagdeo. Middle: Noel Dennison, head of GGMC’s Petroleum Division (Photo: GIA)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, the largest private US oil company, is brainstorming the prospects of a franchise operation in Guyana’s offshore area.

President Bharrat Jagdeo met Thursday with officials from Anadarko and Noel Dennison, the head of the petroleum division of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.

“We like areas like what we are seeing, [and] the sort of potential we think is here,” said Ian Cooling, vice president for business development at Anadarko. “It’s pretty much under-explored right now.”

Cooling said Anadarko is currently conducting a geological assessment of the region.

“We look for frontier areas, we look for deep waters,” he said. “We think the government of Guyana needs to bring some people in that are technically capable and financially capable to do some work. We’re hoping we’re going to be selected to do that.”

Guyana has a reported potential of 15.2 billion barrels of oil, according to the government.

In April, Prime Energy LLC-Caribbean, a US company, proposed building the first-ever oil refinery in the country.

The news follows a series of reports this summer about potentially significant oil reserves in the waters off of the Bahamian coast.