–Dr. Jagdeo
WITH the aim of exploring new avenues to monetise Guyana’s gas assets, the Vice President and People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, announced that the draft of the National Gas Strategy (NGS) is expected to be available in the upcoming weeks.
During a press conference last Thursday, he said, “…We’ve made it clear we want to monetise the gas assets, we’ve said this to Exxon, we are working on a gas strategy,” adding: “I’m hopeful that within two weeks or so we should be able to put the first draft out for consultations and that strategy will outline basically our approach to the industry.”

Earlier this year, Dr. Jagdeo, said that the NGS will be one of several areas where the government is collaborating with the Government of India, as bilateral agreements on the development of Guyana’s remaining offshore resources continue to be considered.
“We’re going to get some of the consultants from India and other places to work with us on having a National Gas Strategy, which will determine what we do with the gas that has been found offshore so far. It then deals with the potential areas for bilateral co-operation in an exploration and developing of our natural resources,” the Vice President explained.

Along with the discovery of over 11 billion barrels of oil offshore, Guyana has a substantial amount of associated natural gas. Though some amount of the gas is being reinjected into the wells, there is a considerable amount that could be utilised for other purposes.
According to the Vice President, a lot of interest has been expressed as to how the gas could be utilised.
“Would it be fertiliser; buy, sell, plant, etc. … So, we are moving ahead faster on that bit,” Dr Jagdeo said.

Though ExxonMobil had argued at the beginning that they need all of the associated gas pumped back into the wells to keep the quality of the wells up, the Vice President shared that the government also has a different view on this matter.
“So that is why the gas utilisation plan has to be done and we are working on our gas strategy and the discussions have to take place about how we monetise the gas here….” Dr. Jagdeo said.