GEORGETOWN, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Oil companies including

TotalEnergies, Qatar Energy and Petronas

have reached agreements with Guyana on terms of production

sharing agreements to explore five oil and gas offshore blocks,

the energy ministry said on Wednesday.

The agreements follow a tender launched in 2022 for offshore

areas that led to offers for a total of eight areas, part of the

government's effort to diversify its industry, currently

dominated by a consortium led by Exxon Mobil ( XOM ).

The Exxon group, which also is in negotiations over the

terms of offshore block S8, is "interested in assessing carbon

capture and storage opportunities within the block," the

ministry said in a release.