Guyana’s gas shift could unlock new, greater onshore investments – Routledge

President of ExxonMobil Guyana Alistair Routledge is optimistic that Guyana’s shift toward gas development will unlock greater opportunities for onshore investment and expand and diversify the country’s economy. Guyana is aggressively advancing its national gas development strategy through the flagship Gas-to-Energy (GtE) Project at Wales and a planned heavy-industrial gas hub in Berbice. Already, more than 17 trillion cubic feet of natural gas have been discovered in the Stabroek Block. Longer-term developments like Longtail and Haimara aim for non-associated gas and condensate production by 2030. Speaking during the Energy Perspectives podcast aired on Monday, Routledge said works are ongoing to start those projects.
“We’re currently working on the Longtail project to bring that to full sanction with the Government. We submitted the documents; we’ve been going through the environmental impact assessment with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). So, what we see with Longtail is not just the progression, the continued growth of production offshore Guyana, but also a little bit of a change of flavour. The projects to date, the first seven of all being very much oil projects, what we’re seeing as we shift to Longtail and hopefully behind that the Haimara project, is a shift to gas development,” he explained. “That project, assuming an approval by the Government this year and FID (Fina Investment Decision) by ourselves and our co-venturers, we anticipate could start up in the 2030 timeframe,” the ExxonMobil Guyana boss added. Currently, ExxonMobil is operating four developments in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana – Liza Phase One, Liza Phase Two, Payara and Yellowtail – with its fifth project, Uaru, on schedule to come onstream later this year and the sixth, Whiptail, slated for start-up in 2027. All of these projects produce what has been described as “black crude”. However, the seventh project, Hammerhead, slated for 2029, and the eighth development, Longtail, expected in 2030, are pegged as major gas development projects. Haimara, the ninth major project in the Stabroek Block, would be another gas development, with a targeted startup around 2031.

Gas shift
According to Routledge, “the gas shift is also something to be remarked upon”.
“As we look into the next decade, what we anticipate seeing, in addition to the pipeline to Wales that’s already been constructed, the so-called Gas-to-Energy pipeline, we anticipate increasing the amount of gas that we can supply into that pipeline to feed further development in the Wales district in Region Three. But what we’re also looking for, the vision is to build another pipeline that would ultimately bring gas onshore in the Berbice region, over in the Regions Five and Six part of the country, where we can feed larger volumes of gas to support greater onshore development of industry. And that will bring greater onshore investment from other companies, companies other than ExxonMobil, that will further diversify the economy,” he highlighted. In fact, Routledge noted that the upcoming edition of the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo (GECSCE) will provide investors with an opportunity to gain insight into how these investments are expected to unfold and explore the opportunities that lie ahead. “We are looking at how that gas can be used. When would those onshore investments be made? How do we align on those timelines and make sure that we can move forward all the investments that are needed, whether it’s the offshore exploration and development projects, the pipelines needed to bring the gas onshore, the power generation, and all the many other projects that could be supported, everything from making fertiliser that the country can use to support the agricultural expansion that’s going on, feeding other parts of Latin America, to alumina, taking the bauxite from the country and not only mining and exporting bauxite, but now being able to hydrate that into alumina or even alumina for supply to international markets, adding more value in the country in order that the country benefits more from natural resources, not just its oil and gas, but the other resources in the country,” he highlighted.

Guyana’s gas monetisation plan
President Dr Irfaan Ali has already made it clear that Guyana’s gas monetisation plan must be implemented before the end of his term in 2031. In fact, the Guyana Government has been pushing ExxonMobil to develop the country’s rich gas resources, touting the establishment of a second gas project in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) to support large-scale industrial growth with power plants, a data centre, and an alumina plant, among other heavy industries – an initiative that will be separate from the highly anticipated GtE Project at Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD). Routledge previously explained that the pipeline infrastructure to connect to the Berbice gas project would be much larger and could cost double the US$1 billion for the 250 kilometre (km), 12-inch pipelines that connect the GtE Project to the Liza field in the Stabroek Block. But he had noted that ExxonMobil is keen on making this investment since there is growing interest from international companies in Guyana’s energy potential. On the Energy Perspectives podcast, Routledge emphasised that ExxonMobil remains committed to being Guyana’s development partner. “As the primary investor in the country in the development of the natural resources and oil and gas resources, the energy sector, we are by far the biggest investor there. And therefore, we see ourselves as the country’s energy partner, the operator of the Stabroek block. But there’s a lot more to it than that. It’s the energy that goes into driving the economic development, that partnership in seeing beyond…beyond just developing the resource, but how do you do that in a responsible way? Partnering to ensure that we develop the people, we protect the environment, and we deliver the maximum value to the country from that development,” he expressed.