Region Three’s success in using natural gas to support industrial development could influence similar investments elsewhere in Guyana, ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge said.
Routledge said investors will be watching the region as Guyana brings offshore natural gas onshore for electricity generation and wider economic activity. He made the remarks on August 6 during an oil and gas stakeholder engagement at the Leonora Technical and Vocational Education Training Centre in Region Three.
“This is the first region to see gas landed on shore,” Routledge said. “The pipeline is ready. The plant is being constructed.”
Natural gas produced from the Stabroek Block will be transported through a pipeline to the Wales gas plant. It will be used to generate electricity and support natural gas liquids production.
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Routledge said reliable and competitively priced energy is necessary for industries and communities to expand. “Every economy around the world knows that that is the root of a competitive economy,” he added.
Routledge said the project is a shift from exporting Guyana’s offshore resources to using part of those resources domestically.
“That is what this is about,” Routledge said. “That is the foundation. It is taking Guyana’s own natural resources to fuel the country.”
Routledge outlined that Region Three’s experience could provide lessons for proposed gas developments in other areas. Routledge referred to plans for additional gas resources to be brought ashore in the Berbice region.
“How successful we are here in Region Three will give us the lessons learned, but also the confidence of other investors to come together and be part of this amazing journey,” he said.
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Senior Petroleum Coordinator at the Ministry of Natural Resources Bobby Gossai said the government intends to position Region Three as a major industrial and manufacturing center.
“The emphasis here is for Region Three to be turned into an industrial hub,” Gossai outlined. He said approximately 1,400 acres have been identified for industrial development around the Gas-to-Energy project. Proposed activities include a second 300-megawatt power plant, a urea and ammonia plant, a gas bottling facility, and a glass factory.
Gossai said those developments could create opportunities in construction, transportation, manufacturing, logistics, tourism, and other service industries. He urged businesses to identify goods and services that could be supplied from Region Three to the petroleum sector and related industries.
The government also plans to engage communities across Guyana over six months to identify additional areas that could be reserved for Guyanese companies under the Local Content Act, Gossai said.
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Bibi Meligat, Secretary, Region Three Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the region’s businesses and workforce are prepared to participate in the developments.
“Our businesses are ready to supply. Our workforce is ready to be trained, and our chambers are ready to partner,” she noted. The Chamber called for the engagement to produce “real contracts” and “real capacity” for residents and businesses in the region.
Routledge said education and technical training will be necessary as the region attracts industries involving automation, artificial intelligence, engineering, and data centers.
“What is ahead is almost at times an overwhelming set of opportunities,” he said.
