The laying of the subsea pipelines for the Gas-to-Energy project (GtE) was completed 10 days ahead of schedule, according to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of United States-based company Subsea7, John Evans.
During a recent second-quarter conference call, Evans made a presentation in which he revealed that the laying of the pipeline was completed early. Subsea 7 was contracted in 2022 by ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL).
“This was our first project in Guyana and involved the fabrication and S-Lay of 119 kilometers of rigid pipeline using Seven Borealis. The pipelay scope was successfully completed 10 days ahead of schedule, and the Seven Borealis is now mobilizing to Saudi Arabia for work on Aramco’s Zuluf field,” Evans explained.
According to the contract, Subsea 7 was tasked with fabricating and laying the 12-inch carbon steel pipes in water depths of up to 1,400 meters. And based on Evans’ presentation, there were as many as 9,608 pipe joints to work with.
The GtE Project includes the construction of an Integrated Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) plant and a 300-megawatt (MW) combined cycle power plant at Wales, West Bank Demerara, utilizing natural gas from the country’s offshore operations in the Stabroek Block.
Upon landing on the West Coast Demerara (WCD) shore, the pipeline would continue for approximately 25 kilometres to the NGL plant at Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD).
A whopping $80 billion was allocated in budget 2024 to advance the project and its associated infrastructure, including transmission and distribution upgrades to offtake the power.
In last year’s national budget, the project received a $43.3 billion allocation in addition to the $24.6 billion injected into the start-up of the transformational project, for the construction of an NGL Plant and the 300MW Combined Cycle Power Plant at Wales, WBD.
Between 2020 and 2023, investments have also been increased in clean renewable energy. Some 173 per cent increase in installed solar PV capacity – from 5.3 MW to 14.6MW has been recorded throughout Guyana.
For this year, work will commence on a 10MW solar farm in Berbice, an 8MW solar farm in Essequibo, and a 0.6MW solar farm in Leguan. The Government would be spending $4.8 billion to finance these projects.
Only a few days ago, an agreement was signed with Power China Caribbean to construct a national control centre. The US$8.6 million facility is the final major piece of infrastructure needed to bring the GtE project on stream.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) Kesh Nandlall was also present and signed as a witness. The facility when completed will house Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition/Energy Management Systems/Generation Management System (SCADA/EMS/GMS) equipment.
The equipment will enable GPL to collect, store, and manage national or regional networks to ensure reliable and stable power quality in Guyana.
US company Fulcrum LNG has also been selected by the Guyanese Government to design, finance, construct, and operate the required gas infrastructure to provide gas monetization solutions and support the acceleration of upstream gas developments in Guyana.
This is part of the Government’s plans to safely and timely develop its gas resources and create an open-access infrastructure system, providing additional monetization alternatives to upstream developers.
Fulcrum LNG has partnered with some of the industry’s leading global firms leveraging advanced technology and industry expertise to deploy the most robust, efficient, and sustainable infrastructure solutions.
