–for oil and gas industry onshore base

THE Ministry of Public Infrastructure 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 sub-committee 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.

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 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 favourable 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 centres for workers; short sailing transit times to offshore fields; flat topography to minimise construction costs; large vacant areas to allow future unrestricted expansion; and availability of power, water, waste disposal and ICT infrastructure.

The Government of Guyana 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 that 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 Government to expand and diversify their economy and provide much needed employment, which is driving the Government to pursue the development of an onshore base and associated infrastructure.