AIMED at discovering new avenues to develop and monetise its natural gas, the government has launched the Request For Proposals (RFPs) for the designing, financing, construction and operation of the required gas infrastructure.
This was disclosed by President Dr Irfaan Ali on Saturday during the commissioning of US$30 million marine facility.
He said: “We’re going out with an RFP tomorrow [Sunday] to have proposals coming into our country to look at how we’re going to utilise our gas to stimulate wealth and create opportunities in positioning Guyana as an important capital in the energy-security matrix of the region.”
According to the RFP, the requirements include: the developer’s capability and credibility to execute such a project, clear written agreements among the parties, and if a consortium, evidence of consortium agreement for this project, the site plan for the project, a summarised and detailed project schedule, the project costs, the project structure diagram, business plan, list of legal agreements and the proposed capital structure.
It was also stated that this project will be strictly financed and owned 100 per cent by the private sector.
Moreover, Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, has made it crystal clear that the government has a clear strategy for advancing investment in gas development.
During a recent press conference, Dr Jagdeo related: “We will take into account the Exxon gas-utilisation strategy, but we’re not going to be bound by that strategy. We could have differing interests and I’ve outlined that from the beginning and what those differences could be. Even conflicting interests.
“Our strategy, our goal is clear. We want to advance investment in gas development as early as possible. And so, clearly that has to be. We’re going to put out the final government gas strategy.”
The natural gas strategy will be one of several areas where the government is collaborating with the Government of India. Bilateral agreements on the development of Guyana’s remaining offshore resources continue to be considered.
According to a press statement from the Ministry of Natural Resources, this strategy is part of a pivotal roadmap for managing the nation’s significant gas resources. It also serves as a vital tool for Guyana to make informed decisions regarding the utilisation of its gas resources.
The Stabroek Block, along with the Corentyne Block, holds substantial gas resources. Ongoing exploration and appraisal activities are underway to determine the full extent of Guyana’s gas resources. To date, the sanctioned projects in the Stabroek Block are exclusively oil-focused, including the Whiptail project currently under review.
At Pluma, Haimara, and other discoveries with condensate, reviews are ongoing.
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.
Moreover, the gas-to-energy (GTE) project currently being developed by the government is one area in which it has already devised use for some of the natural gas that is offshore.
Under this project, a minimum of 50 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscfd) will be transported from the Liza Phase One and Liza Phase Two Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessels, to a power plant and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility that will be built in Wales, on the West Bank of Demerara.
The conversion of natural gas from ExxonMobil’s offshore operations to electricity, is a key component of the government’s objective to lower energy costs by at least 50 per cent through an energy mix which incorporates gas, solar, wind, and hydro power.
Aside from the natural gas being used to fuel the power plant, Guyana could generate between $70 – $100 million from the sale of cooking gas produced by the NGL facility.
Though the government has an arrangement with ExxonMobil for the supply of 50 million mmscfd, the 12-inch, 220km long pipeline, which will be used to channel the gas to shore, will have the capacity to push as much 120 mmscfd.
