Natural gas crucial to Guyana’s transformation process – energy consultant

…says conversion of bauxite into aluminium will attract new industries

The Callender Law Firm from Houston, Texas, which specialises in energy and oil and gas laws, believes that although Guyana is expected to benefit tremendously from the direct sale of oil, pursuing natural gas electricity is crucial for the country’s transformational process.

According to US-based Energy Consultant Edwin Callender, in a country like Guyana where electricity woes continue to plague the nation, natural gas production will catalyse industrialisation and modernisation if that opportunity is taken by the Government.
Speaking at a recent local oil and gas and energy business forum, Callender said, “You bring natural gas on shore for electricity generation, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) production for export and also for local consumption. As an example, each 1000 million cubic feet of natural gas generates 7600-megawatt hours of electricity which is a lot of electricity. And that is being done from a natural gas combined cycle power plant”.
Callender advised that while the country is paying much focus to preparations for a booming oil and gas industry, power generation and its benefits must not be forgotten.

Electricity problem
“People who live in Guyana know that electricity is a problem and it is a problem because of an old system but it is also a problem because of the fuel source. Bunker C – that is very old and antiquated, the power plants are not efficient in any way, shape or form. And so you have an opportunity now to bring natural gas onshore and have gas fire power generation and that will open a whole lot of opportunities for the country,” the energy consultant said.
He further explained that at present, the existing industries in Guyana suffer from electricity woes but that a major difference would be made in Guyana’s developmental process if relevant authorities pursue an available cheap source of energy (a spin-off from the oil and gas sector) because it would attract new industries and businesses here.
“They suffer from the cost of electricity to the reliability of electricity due to the stability of the electric grid and this is an opportunity to improve all of that. Every society in the world that has developed that has gone from being a struggling economy, a poor economy, throughout history, it has been a source of energy, a reliable source, a cheap source, an accessible source of energy.”

Callender noted that while there is an abundance of other natural resources besides oil and gas, a fruitful venture would be to focus on the bauxite industry since the country produces a very high grade of bauxite that can be used in a short timeframe to be converted into aluminium metal.
This, he added, would be lucrative for Guyana in more ways than one.
“In the past, Guyana has been unable to move from beyond the raw material commodity to the value-added product of aluminium. Now there is the opportunity to actually get there. And when that is done you will attract industries that use aluminium to the shores of Guyana.”