The Ministry of Public Infrastructure announced that it has completed a screening evaluation of sites for the proposed oil and gas industry onshore support base and will be presenting its report to the cabinet’s oil and gas subcommittee shortly.
The committee, which focuses on matters concerning Guyana’s fledgling oil and gas industry, comprises of the Ministries of Natural Resources, Public Infrastructure, Business and Finance.
The ministry in a statement said several possible locations were examined along the Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo Rivers, and the top two ranked sites were identified. The Ministry of Public Infrastructure said it will recommend that extensive studies be conducted on the top ranked locations before a final decision is made. Due to the restrictive timeframe, it is expected that a final recommendation will be made shortly.
Onshore base and infrastructure requirements
The ideal onshore base location will have the general characteristics:-
- Access for ocean going vessels and favorable ocean conditions
- Good transportation links with easy road access to Georgetown, its facilities, amenities and the international airports at Timehri and Ogle
- Short commuting time to urban centers for workers
- Short sailing transit times to offshore fields
- Flat topography to minimise construction costs
- Large vacant areas to allow future unrestricted expansion
- Availability of power, water, waste disposal and ICT Infrastructure
Background
The Government of Guyana (GoG) is proposing, in association with the private sector, to construct an onshore base and associated infrastructure in order to support and serve the fledging offshore oil and gas sector. The recent world class offshore oil discovery by Exxon has firmly launched Guyana’s hydrocarbon industry. Guyana’s potential rests on the discovery of the Liza-1 and Liza-2 wells, located approximately 120 miles off our shores in 5,500 feet of water.
The remote location and deep water will likely mean that the selected development will consist of subsea wells connected to a Floating Production Storage and Offtake vessel (FPSO) and shuttle tankers, which make for complex logistics.
First oil is anticipated on or before 2020, with all of the production facilities being fabricated overseas, installed and supported by large foreign based contractors and vessels. However, as the development progresses into the operational phase, it is anticipated the operators will require the local economy to provide an increasing percentage of these services. It is this demand, coupled with the desire of the GoG to expand and diversify their economy and provide much needed employment, which is driving the GoG to pursue the development of an onshore base and associated infrastructure.
