Preparatory works underway for gas-to-energy project in Reg 3

The construction of the wharf and lay-down facilities is progressing smoothly at Nismes on the West Bank of Demerara for the Guyana Government’s gas-to-energy (GtE) project.
The facility, which is being built by GAICO Construction to the tune of US$30 million, was inspected by President Irfaan Ali on Saturday as he visited the sites of several infrastructural projects in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).

At the wharf facility, GAICO Managing Director, Komal Singh, disclosed that works started about a month ago and they are currently at the pile driving stage.
The wharf facility, which is located on the Demerara River, will be used as an offloading site for all the equipment and materials that will be brought in for the construction of the gas-to-energy initiative, which will feature a 300-megawatt power plant and an integrated Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant at Wales, WBD.
According to Singh, GAICO has an almost 99 per cent Guyanese workforce executing this project with only two expats involved in the project.
“So, it shows enormous opportunity for our locals. We’ve employed a lot of employees also from this community of Maria’s Lodge area. We’re actually interjecting them in between our skilled workers so as to allow them to help develop their skill capacity locally,” the contractor stated.
In addition, the four-acre laydown area is also being prepared nearby. It will be used as a storage facility for the 12-inch pipes that will be used to bring the gas from offshore Guyana to onshore at the Wales facilities.
During Saturday’s visit, President Ali also inspected a series of road construction works that are being undertaken as part of these facilities.
This includes a new 2.5-kilometre road that is being developed from swamp conditions.
“This is a very, very complex project, maybe one of the most complex projects we’ve undertaken in the history of our country, and that requires specific skills… And you have a lot of Guyanese working here also on this project. So, this is one of the important deliverables in terms of ensuring the project comes in on time.”
According to the Head of State, not only are new roads being constructed for the GtE project, which will benefit farms with improved access to backlands, but upgrades are also being done to existing community roads in the area.
“In another two to three years, this area will become unrecognisable in the context of the industrial development and the development on the whole that will take place here… We have set ourselves a very aggressive timeline in having his project completed and in delivering to the people of our country, cheap electricity. But with that comes all of these new developments, the opening up of new lands, new value systems, the farmers being helped with the infrastructure, investment in the drainage system. All of that has really integrated in a coordinated way to support these transformative projects.”
“So, it’s not just about the pipeline coming on shore but it’s all of the supporting infrastructure that are critical for the development [of the region]… This is the grand transformation that is taking place in Guyana [and specifically] here in Region Three,” the Head of State noted.
President Ali was accompanied by Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar, during Saturday’s inspection. The Minister explained that along with delivering the Wales power plant, Government is also preparing the infrastructure to feed electricity into the national grid.
“We are also doing the evacuation of the power bit because you have to move this power using a 230 KV line. So, there will be an evacuation of the power going across to Garden of Eden [across the Demerara River on the East Bank of Demerara] and then going to Vreed-en-Hoop [WBD] as well. So, when they go across to Garden of Eden, they also have to connect to the control centre at Eccles [EBD] that we’re building. So, all those different parts of this project are out to tender. Some of them very close to submitting the bid as well too. So, all those things are running on different parallel tracks at the same time,” Indar indicated.
With a timetable to deliver rich gas by the end of 2024 and the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant to be online by 2025, works are progressing on getting the project off the ground. As such, during the first half of this year, US oil giant ExxonMobil is expected to source the materials and the pipeline, so that they are available for when construction starts later this year.
Some 220 kilometres of subsea pipeline will run from the Liza field in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, where Exxon and its partners are currently producing oil, and land on the West Demerara shore, where another 25 kilometres of pipe will run the Wales Development Zone (WDZ).
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.
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 (GPL) grid on the East Bank of the Demerara River.
The US$900 million gas-to-energy 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.