The Government of Guyana has assembled a technical team to examine the viability of a second gas project to supplement the much anticipated Gas-to-Energy (GtE) project.
This was disclosed by President Dr Irfaan Ali during a press conference on Thursday where he noted that an Expression of Interest (EoI) for this new project was recently concluded.
He explained the Government along with operators in the petroleum industry – ExxonMobil and its partners – are expected to look at a model for this major gas project.
“For us, the technical team has been assembled, we have identified a technical team to work with the stakeholders in coming up with a model and to negotiate an agreement and look at the viability –technically and financially –of the project,” he told reporters.
Asked about the financing for the project, he said that is not yet being discussed.
The President said in the new project, the government has to examine various possibilities including the exportation of energy. There is “the development of the energy corridor to northern Brazil and Suriname as one opportunity…then integrating that into the regional energy programme…and then of course we have the marketing of the by-products and the use of the natural gas in other jurisdiction…it also speaks to the development of a shorebase facility and additional power plants that can be used to export gas and power,” the Head of State said.
It is estimated that approximately 17 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas resources, mainly associated gas and condensates, exist in the Stabroek Block, offshore Guyana where exploration is ongoing. Aside from gas being reinjected to maintain reservoir pressure, approximately 50 million standard cubic feet of gas per day will be transported to shore and used to generate 300 megawatts of electrical power as part of the Gas to Energy project.
Providing an update on the GtE located at Wales on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD), the President said the loan being sought from the United States Export-Import (EXIM) Bank will be submitted to its Board of Directors in/before the third quarter of 2024.
The project includes a subsea pipeline to be installed on the seafloor to transport natural gas from the Liza field to an onshore pipeline. The onshore pipeline will deliver the gas to an integrated facility at Wales, WBD. At this facility, a natural gas liquids (NGL) processing plant will treat the gas to remove NGLs for commercialization, and a 300 megawatts (MW) power plant will use the dry gas to generate electricity for domestic use.
The NGL plant is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.
To install the pipeline, the Demerara River requires dredging. On this note, the President said “they are looking to see how we can [find] a viable sustainable long-term plan in relation to the dredging of the Demerara River to meet the needs of the development that is taking place.”
The President said the Government will soon advertise for a marketer for its NGL.
