Gas-to-Energy project: 75% of current workforce are Guyanese – contractor

…accommodation area being built onsite to fast-track works

As works progress on the highly anticipated Gas-to-Energy (GtE) Project, General Manager (GM) of Lindsayca CH4 Guyana Inc (LNDCH4 Guyana) Humberto Lopez has disclosed that some 75 per cent of the current workforce are Guyanese.
This figure, according to Lopez, includes the sub-contracted workers.
The Joint Venture formed by United States (US)-based companies, Lindsayca and CH4, was awarded the US$759 million contract in November 2022 to build the 300-megawatt (MW) Combined Cycle Power Plant and a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility at Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD) – key components of the GtE Project.
On Friday, a US$527 million loan agreement was signed between the Guyana Government and the US Export-Import (EXIM) Bank to finance the project. This signing was followed by a tour of the construction site.
During that site visit, Lopez explained to reporters that while they had to work 24-hours at the initial stage to get the required soil stability of the site, they are no longer working around the clock. That, he added, may resume later when they start the actual construction and installation works.

“Probably at some point we will get [back to working 24-hours] again,” he noted.
According to the GM, due to the chaos at the Demerara Harbour Bridge during peak hours, workers are forced to travel from Georgetown very early to get to the site for the 06:00h start time and would end up having to stay there until 18:00h in order to beat the traffic. The 12-hour work shift coupled with the daily travel is taxing on the workers – something which Lopez said they are looking to fix.
“We’re now placing an accommodation camp [on site] to have 400 people living here because we need those people to be ready to work every day. So, once we finish that, you’ll see a huge amount of work being done here,” the LNDCH4 Guyana GM posited.
However, while there is currently a 75 per cent local workforce employed for the project, Lopez went onto note that this number will be reduced as the works advance to the more technical aspects.
“In the 400, we will reduce [the local workforce] a little bit because this job is really specialised in technical installation, so we will bring in the people who are already specialised on that,” he stated.
The GM further disclosed that those persons to come will include Project Management Teams (PMT) from the US as well as specialists from the Dominican Republic, where the company has recently completed a similar project.
Only last month, LNDCH4 Guyana noted that it recorded a year of “milestones and progress” in 2024, stating in a progress report posted to its social media page on December 27 last, that significant strides were made towards Guyana’s energy security.
Among these key accomplishments with the GtE Project is the completion of the soil stabilisation works. Only in September, GtE Project Lead, Winston Brassington, had disclosed that more than 1.65 million cubic metres (m3) of sand along with over 160,000 m3 loam and 25,000 m3 crusher run were purchased for the soil stabilisation exercise on the 100-acre Wales project site.
Lopez told reporters on Friday that since the site was not up to the required specification when it was handed over to them, they had to take huge amounts of sands there to bring it up to the required conditions.
In fact, LNDCH4 Guyana has since filed a claim to be compensated for that additional work they had to do. According to the GM, this claim for the extra stabilisation work coupled with the first claim that was filed takes the total amount being sought by the company to some US$100 million.
In that first claim, the Guyana Government and the GtE contractor are at loggerheads over a US$50 million claim by the company and the timeline for the completion of the project. That matter is currently before a three-member Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Board (DAAB) and a decision is likely by this month-end.
Nevertheless, other works completed by the contractor last year include 140,000 metres of piles driven at the site. Over 7,000 steel piles, some at 37.5 metres, are slated to be driven for this project. Earlier in December, LNDCH4 had reported that some 3,715 of these piles have been installed thus far.
Meanwhile, another major milestone this year was the arrival of two state-of-the-art gas turbines from Sweden in October. These turbines, capable of generating 300 MW of electricity, are set to revolutionise Guyana’s energy landscape by providing cleaner power for decades to come.
Then only a few weeks ago, two state-of-the-art steam turbines and two oil tanks arrived in the country on December 21. These critical components of the GtE Project have been safely transported and will be stored at the warehouse, where they will remain until they are ready to be installed.
Back in July, LNDCH4-Guyana successfully offloaded and transported seven essential transformers – devices that will step up the voltage for transmission and help to minimise energy loss, ensuring a stable power supply to homes and businesses in Guyana.
Also, during last year, the manufacturing of the Flare, the Heat Recovery System and the NGL Facility as well as the NGL Storage Tanks were completed.
According to LNDCH4, these works were completed during 900,000-plus accident-free hours.
Initially, the GtE Project was scheduled to be completed by 2024 year-end but following setbacks in handing over some components including site preparation works, LNDCH4 was given an extension to this year to deliver the power plant. However, the contractor wants more than the three-month extension that the Government has granted along with the financial claim – both of which was rejected by the state hence the move to the dispute resolution process.
Government has already made it clear that if LNDCH4 does not deliver power by the end of April, then they will face liquidated damages. (G8)