The Government of Grenada has terminated the Development Licence and Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) it held with Global Petroleum Group (GPG), ending an offshore oil and gas arrangement that dates back nearly two decades without reaching commercial production.
The termination, effective August 1, took place after what the government described as a thorough review of GPG's failure to meet its contractual obligations. Attorney General Sen. Claudette Joseph said the decision was taken "lawfully, responsibly, and in the national interest," adding that GPG had been given "every reasonable opportunity" to address the government's concerns before the agreements were ended.
Grenada first granted GPG a licence over 11 offshore blocks in 2008 to explore the country's waters for oil and gas. In 2013, GPG received a Development Licence and signed a Production Sharing Agreement covering four of those blocks, setting out the legal framework for developing any oil and gas found there and sharing the resulting benefits with the country. In 2016, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding reserving the remaining seven blocks for GPG, conditional on the company first bringing the original four-block project into commercial production.
That condition was never satisfied. The government terminated the 2016 MOU covering the seven reserved blocks on April 29, and followed with the termination of the Development Licence and PSA on the four-block project on August 1.
According to the government, a Technical Working Group established after the current administration took office in 2022 engaged directly with GPG from 2023 to establish the facts of the company's performance. That review found several breaches of GPG's obligations, including failure to complete the minimum work it had committed to, failure to prepare a development plan meeting the standard required under the agreements and industry norms, and failure to demonstrate that it held the funds necessary to carry out its proposed development work.
The government said it formally notified GPG of the breaches in accordance with the agreements and Grenada's Petroleum and Natural Gas Deposits Act, and gave the company the opportunity to respond in writing and in a meeting. GPG did not remedy the breaches, leading to the termination.
"Grenada is a nation that honours the contracts it signs and expects the same of its partners," the government said in a statement. "Where a company fails, over an extended period, to meet its obligations and deliver for the country, the Government has both the right and the duty to act."
GPG registered as a company in Grenada in 2003, according to records at the country's Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office, which list it as having 100,000,000 ordinary shares. The company began seismic and drilling work offshore Grenada around 2017. Reporting at the time described a natural gas find that was being tested for quality and quantity that year; separate reporting in 2024 referenced a 2018 discovery at the Nutmeg-2 well. It is not clear from available reporting whether these describe the same find at different stages or two distinct results. Either way, the discovery raised expectations of a domestic energy industry for Grenada, a country of roughly 117,000 people (World Bank, 2024), though the project did not advance to commercial development.
The GPG licence also drew regional attention in 2024, when reports emerged that Nigerian company Oceangate Oil and Gas Engineering had signed an arrangement with GPG covering Grenada's offshore acreage, described by Oceangate as a 38-year production-sharing agreement over roughly 7,500 square kilometres, with an initial value reported at US$1.8 billion and potential to grow to US$8 billion. Oceangate chief executive Dr. Aisha Achimugu said the deal had the potential to reach billions of dollars as the companies developed Grenada's hydrocarbon reserves. Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said at the time that he could not comment on the reported deal, noting the Grenadian government was not named as a party to it: "I cannot speak to it, because if you read the article, you will see that nowhere in it, it speaks about the Government of Grenada," he told local outlet Mikey Live in October 2024. He later confirmed his administration had met with GPG representatives to seek clarity on the company's plans. The status of the Oceangate arrangement has not been addressed in the government's termination announcement.
The government said Prime Minister Mitchell will address the nation to provide further context on the decision, and that the Attorney General's office and the Technical Working Group will release additional details on the factual circumstances behind the termination in the coming days. Grenada said it remains open to attracting new investment in the sector that is "transparent, credible, and delivers real value for its people."