Gas-to-Energy project: GCCI notes “immeasurable harm” of high energy costs to Guyana

…reiterates support for project

The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) is so supportive of the Gas-to-Energy project and the good it can do for Guyana that its members would even be willing to support a second pipeline.
On Wednesday, the GCCI held a press conference focused on the Gas-to-Energy project. In recent times, there has been increased discussion on the project, which has a start-up date of 2024.
While most are anticipating the much-needed project, others have been raising concerns, including regarding the project’s cost. However, former GCCI President Timothy Tucker has made it clear that the GCCI has no reservations in supporting the project, and has said he would even support a second pipeline.
“We are sitting here to show you and Guyanese that we stand behind the letter, the statement, and what the President and council has put into that letter. We stand behind the project because it is good for the business community, it is good for Guyana. We will continue to support that,” he declared.
“And furthermore, I would say we would even support a second pipeline if it becomes necessary; because, with the prevailing circumstances…I would say we also support a mini refinery and we would always support that simply because, as (GCCI Vice President) Richard said, energy security,” Tucker explained.
According to Tucker, even the competitors to the gas-to-shore project have acknowledged that the project is the current best option for Guyana. He noted that this became apparent when the GCCI held consultations with other potential renewable energy investors.
“We have, on several occasions — and I can tell you: going back from Minister Patterson, when he presented the numbers, when we did the consultations with this Government, when we also brought in the Japanese, the Mexicans, about three other persons came into the Chamber – we sat with them and looked whether it would be better to deal with solar; whether it would be better to go with wind; when we got the numbers, we asked them what about battery backup? What is the cost? Each of them coming to pitch their project said to us, ‘But in the immediate time now, this is your best bet. But you can have these as secondary’. As recently as last year, someone from the DR,” Tucker said.

Further, Tucker noted the almost immeasurable damage that unreliable, expensive energy has caused to Guyana.
Tucker’s point has been reinformed by GCCI Vice President Richard Rambarran, who added that unreliable power has chased away many an investor.
“You would have two aspects: Production loss from bad or unreliable electricity and the cost for that, and the cost-of-investment loss from companies that don’t want to come in and pay 35 cents for electricity. So that’s loss by investments; loss by consumers; downtime; how much times you guys spend having to work overtime to finish a report because you had blackout,” Tucker explained.
The scope of Guyana’s gas-to-energy project consists of the construction of 225 kilometres of pipeline from the Liza field in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, where Exxon and its partners are currently producing oil. It features approximately 200 kilometres of a subsea pipeline offshore that will run from Liza Destiny and Liza Unity floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels in the Stabroek Block to the shore. Upon landing on the West Coast Demerara shore, the pipeline would continue for approximately 25 kilometres to the Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) Plant at Wales, West Bank Demerara.
In last year’s national budget, the project received a $43.3 billion allocation in addition to the $24.6 billion injected into the start-up of the transformational project for construction of the NGL Plant and the 300-megawatt (MW) combined cycle power plant at Wales, WBD. This year, a whopping $80 billion was budgeted to advance this project and its associated infrastructure, including transmission and distribution upgrades to offtake the power.
As of January this year, the marine offloading facility has been completed, and 26 kilometres (km) of onshore pipelines have been installed. Once completed, the project would allow Guyanese to benefit from 50 per cent reduced electricity costs. (G3)