As discussions continue in Guyana on the prospect of piping gas to shore for generation of cheaper and cleaner energy, ExxonMobil, operator at the Stabroek Block, has confirmed that volumes found at the Liza field meet the requirements of this proposed project.
Guyana’s Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, told reporters last week the new administration is reviewing studies that were done to pipe gas to shore since getting this project off the ground is something it wants to do urgently.
“So, we will of course have to be guided by…the best technical minds, but we want this project on the road as early as possible,” he said, pointing out that cheap and reliable power is needed “so we can generate more jobs and we also need the electricity so we can fulfill the promise we made to people that we will cut their electricity bill.”
With the cost of electricity in Guyana already being one of the highest in the region, Guyanese are hopeful that gas can be brought to shore to power the generators that provide electricity to hundreds of thousands of consumers across the country. This is currently being done by the use of imported fuel oil, which together with a faulty transmission and distribution network, make power costly and unreliable.
“Affordable, reliable and cleaner energy is essential to economic progress,” Alistair Routledge, President of ExxonMobil Guyana, said in a comment to OilNOW on Saturday. “Compared with the current fuel oil power station, a plant fed with Guyana’s natural gas can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent, enhance security of supply and reliability, and reduce generation costs.”
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, said a government team headed by the President met with ExxonMobil officials as well as other stakeholders last week at which time the gas to shore project was discussed. “The companies are willing to work with us to implement this project,” he stated.
The Vice President said there are a number of factors to consider such as “the availability of gas now at this point in time, how much is available and who will own the facility” as well as if it will be a public private partnership or a government-owned project.
On the question of the availability of gas, this was confirmed by the ExxonMobil Guyana President. “ExxonMobil confirms there is gas available from the Liza field to meet the requirements of the proposed power project,” Mr. Routledge said.
The company has to date found more than 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent resources spread across 16 discoveries at the Stabroek Block, with the world class Liza find being the largest so far.
“ExxonMobil, I think is eager to move along with this project too. Because from what I gather, they have been waiting for quite a while for…the government to show major interest in moving this forward,” Mr. Jagdeo said.
