—says Wales could become blueprint for new industries; second gas pipeline to Berbice could unlock further development

GUYANA’S gas-to-energy project at Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD) is being positioned as a foundation for industrialisation, with the government looking to use natural gas to provide cheaper, stable and reliable electricity, while creating opportunities for new industries.

Senior Petroleum Coordinator at the Ministry of Natural Resources, Dr. Bobby Gossai Jr., said this during an interview on the Energy Perspectives podcast.

He said the development of natural gas forms a key part of Guyana’s broader strategy to move beyond crude-oil production and generate greater economic value from its energy resources.

“We have the first project, that is the gas-to-energy project, which is being developed, and we are looking to develop more industries from that,” Gossai said.

He explained that the first priority in developing Guyana’s natural-gas resources is electricity generation.

“Priority one from the development of the natural gas was generating power for electricity to supply to our national grid,” he said.

Gossai said the gas-to-energy project is an integrated undertaking that includes the distribution network needed to deliver electricity to households and businesses.

He added, “And what we want to do is to ensure with cheaper power, stable power and reliable power that more industries can be developed.”

The senior petroleum coordinator said the government has already begun pursuing opportunities for downstream industries that could benefit from the availability of natural gas and more reliable electricity.

“The government would have put out Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for a gas-bottling plant. We did that as well for an ammonia-urea plant, and we are looking towards the development of gas-to-energy too,” he said.
He added that officials are also examining opportunities in the petrochemical sector.

The objective, he explained, is also to reduce Guyana’s dependence on imported goods by developing the capacity to manufacture some products locally.

“So, some of the very things that we import every single day, we can have those products be made here in Guyana.”

Gossai said the industrialisation strategy would not be confined to heavy industry.

The government is also developing a gas-utilisation and monetisation plan, which Gossai said would identify additional opportunities as more gas resources become available.

He noted, “And over time, we are currently also working on our gas-utilisation and monetisation plan so that we can put those opportunities out to the public, once we have more of the gas resources to be developed.”
He said the approach covers the upstream, midstream and downstream segments of the energy sector.

He stated, “This is where the government is working effectively on not only the upstream side, which is to bring the resource out of the ground, and in the midstream, which is the pipeline that we have run—the 12-inch pipeline from Liza 1 and Liza 2, all the way down to Wales—but we’re also looking at the downstream industries.”

Liza 1 and Liza 2 are two offshore oil developments in Guyana’s Stabroek Block. Liza 1 was Guyana’s first offshore oil-production project, while Liza 2 is the second development of the Liza field.

According to him, the government is assessing industries not only for the domestic market, but also for their potential to compete regionally and internationally.

He pointed to the proposed gas-bottling plant as an example, noting that officials are examining both local and regional demand.
Data centres are also being considered as part of the emerging industrial landscape.

He said, “You would have known from the Berbice Development Summit last November, we spoke about some of the other industries such as data centres as well. Those are going to be heavily dependent on the type of energy that we are able to produce.”
Gossai said the broader objective is to use Guyana’s energy resources to transition into industrialisation.

“So, as we look to develop the oil and gas sector, we are effectively looking to develop our energy industry that can take us into industrialisation,” he noted.

He said Guyana is seeking to expand beyond the production of primarily consumable goods.
He described the intended approach as “eco-industrial development”, citing the importance placed on environmental management.

Looking ahead, Gossai identified natural-gas development as Guyana’s biggest opportunity over the next decade.
He said the resource could be developed in different forms, including transportation in ISO containers and compressed natural gas, while greater resource availability could support additional opportunities.

The senior petroleum coordinator also pointed to plans for a second pipeline to Berbice, which he said could significantly increase the volume of gas available for development.

“And with a second pipeline coming to Berbice, that would probably be double what we have here in Wales now and could give us a lot of resources that can take us to heights of new development,” he said.

He said the development planned for Wales could establish a blueprint for industrial development elsewhere in the country.

Gossai said, “Wales is going to set out a whole industrial development blueprint for Guyana that we can use in other parts of the country.”

He said greater gas availability could eventually enable industries that do not currently exist in Guyana.

“But it’s going to take us into that industrial, eco-industrial development that we want to see and industries that we may not even have now that we can have because of the gas and the power that we can get from the gas,” he said.