HOUSTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil ( XOM )

and partners are continuing to negotiate with Guyana's

government on the terms for developing a shallow-water oil

block, an Exxon spokesperson said on Monday.

Exxon, Hess and CNOOC won offshore block

S8 in a bidding round launched in late 2022 by President Irfaan

Ali's administration.

The group remains interested in the block and talks are

continuing, an Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) spokesperson said via email. The

spokesperson declined to disclose whether it aimed to use the

block for carbon capture and storage, or for oil and gas

exploration.

The South American country's vice president had said last

month that the group had withdrawn from the auction after the

government was uninterested in a carbon sequestration project.

But on Thursday, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said Exxon had

since written to the government on interest in the block.

"They said there might have been a misunderstanding, they

have not walked away from" negotiations, Jagdeo said in response

to a request for additional auction details at his weekly

briefing. "Let's see how it goes."

Eight of the 14 oil and gas blocks Guyana offered in the

round received bids, including by large oil firms Petronas,

CNOOC and TotalEnergies. Jagdeo said he expected an

agreement with TotalEnergies in the near future.

(Reporting by Kemol King in Georgetown and Gary McWilliams in

Houston; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)