(Kaieteur News) – More than six months since the Government of Guyana (GoG) signed a petroleum agreement with Ghanaian offshore explorer Cybele Energy Limited for the shallow-water Block S7, the company has still not paid the required US$17 million signing bonus into the Natural Resources Fund (NRF), placing the offshore concession at risk of cancellation.

Within 30-days of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) being signed on December 9, 2025, Cybele was required to make the payment into the NRF. However, with the deadline long expired, the company has racked up an approximately US$4 million in interest, that it is required to pay in addition to the US$17 million signing bonus. It should be noted that while the required bonus for shallow-water blocks is US$10 million, Cybele offered US$7 million above the minimum when it submitted its bid during Guyana’s inaugural bid round.

Earlier this month, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat disclosed that Cybele was at risk of losing the approximately 2,000-square-kilometre block because of the non-payment. At that time, the minister had revealed that during talks with the ministry, the company committed to paying part of the signing bonus into the NRF by the end of the first week in June and the remainder shortly thereafter. However, to date, no payment has been made.