…RFPs sent out to prequalified companies; to be received by July
The Government of Guyana plans to go out to tender for an international project manager for the gas-to-shore development, with Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo admitting that a company is needed with the capacity to manage a project of that magnitude.
During a recent press conference, Jagdeo revealed that the tender for the project manager will go out in a matter of weeks. Jagdeo freely admitted that they do not possess the capacity to manage the implementation of such a project.
“We are going out to tender, in a matter of weeks, for an international project management group that will manage the contract on our behalf. To see that the quality is maintained and it comes in on budget and on time.”
“Because we don’t have that capability. Even at GPL, we had to get a foreign company to advise us. It’s a combined cycle, steam and power plant and stuff. Which is more stable. So, we’ll go out (thereafter) for the project management team to oversee this project on our behalf,” he said.
Jagdeo also explained that the nine companies that were prequalified this year, have already been sent their Requests for Proposals (RFPs). These RFPs encompass the power plant and the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility.
“We’re about to wrap up the negotiations for the gas-to-energy project. So, the Requests for Proposals have gone to the nine prequalified companies. By the end of July, we will have the proposals from them. The nine prequalified companies. That is to build the power plant and the NGL facility.”
The gas-to-shore project will see the establishment of a gas processing plant (GPP) and a natural gas liquids (NGL) facility. This will be capable of producing at least 4000 barrels per day, including the separating of liquefied petroleum gas.
The scope of the US$900 million gas-to-shore project also consists of the construction of 225 kilometres of pipeline from the Liza field in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, where Exxon and its partners are currently producing oil.
It was originally expected that preparation of the NGL plant site would commence in August of this year. The entire construction process will take some three years hence rich gas is expected to be delivered onshore by the end of 2024, and the NGL plant to be operational by mid-2025.
Head of the Gas-to-Shore Taskforce, Winston Brassington had previously explained that ExxonMobil Guyana, which is funding the pipeline aspect of the project out of cost oil, had found that there will be substantial savings from combining these two facilities. Hence, it was agreed that the power plant and the NGL plant will be done as a combined Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) process.
The gas-to-shore project, which has a 25-year lifespan, is expected to employ up to 800 workers during the peak construction stage, as well as some 40 full-time workers during the operations stage, and another 50 workers during the decommissioning stage.
It features approximately 220 kilometres of a subsea pipeline offshore that will run from the Destiny and Unity Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels in the Stabroek Block to onshore. Upon landing on the West Coast Demerara shore, the pipeline will continue approximately 25 kilometres to the NGL plant at Wales, West Bank Demerara.
The pipeline would be 12 inches and is expected to transport some 50 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of dry gas to the NGL plant but has the capacity to push as much 120 mmscfd.
The pipeline’s route onshore will follow the same path with the fibre optic cables and will terminate at Hermitage, part of the Wales Development Zone (WDZ) which will house the gas-to-shore project.
The Guyana Government has invited interested parties to make investments in the Wales Development Zone, which will be heavily industrialised and for which approximately 150 acres of land has been allocated. Those lands were previously used by the Wales Sugar Estate.
