Govt exploring uses for excess gas from gas-to-shore project – Bharrat

With works moving apace for the much-anticipated gas-to-shore project that will fulfil Guyana’s energy demands effortlessly, Government is looking at alternative uses for the excess gas which will become available.
Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat told media operatives on Tuesday that while Government was focused heavily on energy generation in the gas-to-energy project, the excess natural resource produced represented a significant figure and could be converted to another use. Bharrat said Government was yet to make a decision but was contemplating several avenues.

“The project would focus primarily on energy generation, because that is our biggest problem in Guyana. We need cheaper, more reliable and cleaner energy. This project would solve that problem. However, based on [what is] guaranteed now from Exxon in terms of the amount of gas coming in, there will be a few million that would remain so we would have to find ways which we would utilise it to ensure that we may be in some small petrochemical industry, maybe fertiliser. We have not decided,” said the Minister.
Government had turned its attention to negotiating the gas-to-energy project just after permit licences were issued to Exxon for the Payara Development Project last year. This move was announced by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo.
The gas-to-shore project is a game-changing initiative that will see gas from the Liza Field offshore Guyana being pumped onshore to generate power. The main objective of the initiative is to transport sufficient gas from the Stabroek Block’s petroleum operations to supply some 200-250 megawatts of energy to the national grid, leading to a significant reduction in electricity costs.
Exxon has said that around 30 to 35 million cubic feet of natural gas would be required for the gas-to-shore project. Recently-released data from Norwegian research company Rystad Energy had indicated that less than 20 per cent of the 1.8 billion Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE) discovered last year was gas.
Jagdeo had pointed out that Guyana was generating energy at nearly 17 to 20 cents per kilowatt/hour. As such, he noted that the project could cut the cost of electricity in the country by more than half. To this end, he had announced that a team has been set up to start negotiations on the gas-to-energy project, with the Government eyeing 2023 to bring the project to fruition.
And indeed, a Gas-to-Shore Project Advisory Committee headed by former National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Head Winston Brassington was set up soon afterwards to look at various locations for the gas-to-shore project. A number of factors including geotechnical, geophysical and environmental factors were examined, and Government had settled on Wales to land the pipelines for the project.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Phillips, who has responsibility for the energy sector, had previously said that the Government was looking to produce 200 megawatts of power from the gas-to-shore project by 2024.
President Dr Irfaan Ali had previously said the landing of the gas-to-shore pipeline in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) would lead to “big industrial development taking place there that is linked to not only power generation and a power plant”. He also said the investment on the Demerara River’s shoreside would create massive opportunities and a trickle-down effect.
For now, the Natural Resources Minister said reliable energy remained the top priority of Government, in keeping with the timeline of three years. “It’s a work in progress. Our main focus is the power generation plant and there’s a timeline to that. The President would have made it clear that he wants it done in three years and we’re working towards that timeline.”
He added that Guyana has been settling for mediocrity for too long, but the next five years would be significantly important. Several projects in the pipeline will not just reduce electricity costs, but the cost of living. Heightened production and manufacturing of finished products should also follow. (G12)