2nd major gas project likely to come on stream in Berbice – VP Jagdeo

Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has announced that the government’s second major gas project is expected to launch in Berbice, as he highlighted that the oil and gas sector will gradually shift to the East Berbice-Corentyne region (Region Six) over the coming years.
“Maybe if the second monetisation of the gas project comes on shore, it will come onshore in Berbice,” the Vice President told reporters during his weekly press briefing on Thursday.
“…because that’s the ideal location given that more of our gas finds have been in the Haimara area and Pluma,” he added.
In the Stabroek Block, some 17 trillion cubic feet of gas have already been found, with the Pluma and Haimara wells being proven gas fields. The government is seeking to develop this gas.
One way it is doing this is through the Gas-to-Energy project which will feature approximately 220 kilometres of a subsea pipeline offshore from the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels in the Stabroek Block to Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD).
Upon landing on shore, the pipeline will continue for approximately 25 kilometres to the Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) plant to be constructed in Wales. The pipeline would be 12 inches in diameter and is expected to transport some 50 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of dry gas to the NGL plant, but can push as much 120 mmscfd.

The main feature of the gas-to-shore initiative is a power plant that will generate 250 to 300 megawatts of power using natural gas from offshore, which will significantly reduce the cost of electricity in Guyana.
The aim is to deliver rich gas by the end of 2024 for the power plant while the NGL facility is slated to be online by 2025. The gas-to-shore project, which has a 25-year lifespan, is expected to employ up to 800 workers during the peak construction stage, as well as some 40 full-time workers during the operations stage, and another 50 workers during the decommissioning stage.
In addition to this, the government is looking at a second major gas project for which a technical team has already been assembled to examine its viability.
“We have identified a technical team to work with the stakeholders in coming up with a model, and to negotiate an agreement and look at the viability –technically and financially –of the project,” President Dr Irfaan Ali had announced last month.
The President had said that, in the new project, the government has to examine various possibilities, including the exportation of energy, noting that there is “the development of the energy corridor to northern Brazil and Suriname as one opportunity…then integrating that into the regional energy programme…and then, of course, we have the marketing of the by-products and the use of the natural gas in other jurisdiction…it also speaks to the development of a shorebase facility and additional power plants that can be used to export gas and power.”
Meanwhile, the Vice President also explained that the government does not intend to participate financially in the second gas project.
“At this stage, we don’t have any intention to participate financially as owners, because that means putting aside large sums of money into the venture, which we don’t have; and secondly, it’s a risky undertaking,” Jagdeo had explained at a press conference.
Request for Bids (RFB) for the design, financing, construction, and operation of essential gas infrastructure to support upstream developments in Guyana were published both locally and internationally.
In response, 17 companies, including the U.S. energy firm Fulcrum LNG, submitted proposals. The U.S. energy firm was identified as the most responsive and compliant bidder, ranking number one. As a result, Fulcrum LNG was selected as the company that will support the government and the Stabroek Block operator ExxonMobil in utilising the non-associated gas.
The Guyana Government has openly stated that one of its primary objectives in the oil and gas sector is the development of the country’s natural gas resources, with a gas monetisation strategy already developed.
With this drive to push gas development, the government has already informed ExxonMobil that it would have to relinquish the gas fields if it does not seek to develop the gas.
It was reported in May that the company’s drill programme for the year includes plans to further appraise two well sites, to gauge the commercial potential for gas in the Haimara gas field.
Back in 2019 and 2023, ExxonMobil had drilled for gas at the Haimara-1 and 2 wells, though with varying degrees of success. The oil giant is now gearing up for further appraisal drilling, this time at the Haimara 3 and 4 gas wells. (G-11)