Guyana’s energy plans highlighted during panel discussion in Abu Dhabi

– as Natural Resources Minister shares panel with Timor-Leste counterpart

Guyana’s oil and gas production, its journey towards energy transition, and other topical issues were among the discussions when Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat represented Guyana in a panel discussion at the ADIPEC 2022 Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The four-day conference has been billed as the largest of its kind. It brought together policymakers, investors, oil executives, and others from around the world. Minister Bharrat is representing Guyana at the conference.
On Wednesday, he spoke on a Ministerial panel moderated by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Crystal Energy, Dr. Carole Nakhle. On the panel with him was his Timor-Leste counterpart, Dr. Victor da Soares.
The discussions centered on promoting energy efficiency to reduce carbon emissions, as well as sustainable management of exploration and production. Also on the agenda was the energy transition and its implications for the oil sector.
Guyana is presently in the midst of an energy transition, with projects such as the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP) expected to provide 165 megawatts of power on startup. Construction on the project was supposed to start this year, as Government continues to ramp up spending on renewable energy projects as well as upgrades to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) infrastructure. The expected completion date has been set at 2027.
The AFHP will be based on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model, wherein the company would supply electricity to GPL Inc at a cost not exceeding US$0.07737 per kWh, and where the company would provide the entire equity required by the project, and undertake all the risks associated with the project.
The revival of the 165-megawatt AFHP was one of the promises made by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic in its manifesto for transitioning Guyana towards renewable energy use. Another such project is the gas-to-shore project, which will produce 250 megawatts of power.
The gas-to-shore project will have a 25-year lifespan, and 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.
The project will include a power plant and an NGL plant, all of which will be constructed within the Wales Development Zone (WDZ). When it comes to the construction of a combined cycle power plant, this will generate up to 300 megawatts (MW) of power, with a net 250MW delivered into the Guyana Power and Light Grid at a sub-station located on the East Bank of the Demerara River.
The Guyana Government has already invited interested parties to make investments in the WDZ, which will be heavily industrialised, and for which approximately 150 acres of land have been allocated. Those lands were previously used by the Wales Sugar Estate.
The scope of the approximately US$900 million gas-to-shore project also 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 220 kilometres of a subsea pipeline offshore that would 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 NGL plant at Wales, West Bank Demerara.
The pipeline would be 12 inches wide, and is expected to transport per day some 50 million standard cubic feet (mscfpd) of dry gas to the NGL plant, but it has the capacity to push as much as 120 mscfpd.
The pipeline’s route onshore would follow the same path as the fibre optic cables, and will terminate at Hermitage, part of the WDZ which will house the gas-to-shore project.