Govt wants petrochemical facility, mineral refinery established in Guyana – Gossai

– cites importance of more food processing facilities

At the policy level, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government wants to see Guyana’s industrial development expand with industries like petrochemical and mineral refining – though they must, according to Senior Petroleum Coordinator in the Natural Resources Ministry, Bobby Gossai – be done on a sustainable scale.

Gossai at the time was sharing perspectives on Guyana’s industrial development during last week’s Local Content Summit.
With the Gas to Energy (GtE) Project slated to be commissioned this year, Gossai recalled that President Dr Irfaan Ali has spoken of other pipeline operations and how these can be established to fast-track Guyana’s industrial development. According to Gossai, this includes setting up a petrochemical facility, as well as mineral refining.
“We want to be able to have a petrochemical industry here in Guyana, on a scale that is sustainable. And so, we are going to be looking at the opportunities. And also, within the framework of the legislation, be able to focus on some of the provision of services to the natural gas sector itself.”
“And of course, you know we have minerals here in this country. Whether its gold, whether its bauxite, whether its manganese, we want to see the refining of these at some level, once we have that level of generated electricity in place,” Gossai also said.
Added to this is the potential for pairing food production and processing with the oil and gas sector. Gossai explained that with all of this in mind, the manufacturing sector will be critical to Guyana’s industrial growth.
“We’re also looking at other areas of food processing, which is the fastest one we’re going to be able to do. And we want to be able to link that to the oil and gas sector, so that we can provide the goods and services from this sector, into the oil and gas sector. So, the manufacturing sector is going to be very important, as we relate to those growing and evolving industries.”
Under the GtE Project, an Integrated Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) Plant and 300-megawatt (MW) Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Power Plant will be built. An industrial park, called the Wales Development Zone (WDZ), will also be built and benefit directly from the gas.
The NGL and 300-MW power plant components of the Gas-to-Shore Project are expected to cost US$759.8 million, and will be financed through sources that include budgets and loan financing.
The scope of Guyana’s GtE Project also consists of the construction of 225 kilometres (km) of pipeline from the Liza field in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, where Exxon and its partners are currently producing oil.
In July last year, a US$159 million Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract was awarded to the Indian company Kalpataru Projects International Limited (KPIL). Under the terms of the contract, KPIL will provide EPC services for the transmission lines and substations component of the Gas-to-Shore Project.
Meanwhile, oil and gas consortium Lindsayca/CH4 (LNDCH4) was contracted back in 2022 to construct the 300-MW power plant and NGL plant at Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD) as part of the Gas-to-Shore initiative.
Outside of the EPC contracts, the supervision of the NGL and power plant components of the project will cost another US$23 million. With a timetable to deliver the power plant by the end of 2024 and the NGL plant to be online by 2025, works are progressing on getting the GtE Project off the ground.
The Government has said that the GtE Project will provide the fiscal space to cut the cost of power by 50 per cent. Replacing imported heavy fuel oil (HFO) with Guyana’s natural gas as the main source of electricity generation will significantly reduce emissions. The GtE will also boost generating capacity by more than 100 per cent, and is part of a larger strategy to reduce power outages.