Guyana’s Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat has assured that the National Assembly will be furnished with all agreements signed for the US$2.2 billion Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project.
Mr. Bharrat provided this assurance as part of a written response to a question posed by fellow Parliamentarian, David Patterson. An executive of the Opposition party Alliance for Change (AFC), Patterson had called on the government weeks ago to provide copies of all agreements signed for the project.
Bharrat noted that the administration had signed a Heads of Agreement with the Stabroek Block co-venturers, ExxonMobil, Hess, and CNOOC on June 30, 2022. This document sets out principles and conditions for the commercial and technical arrangements for the project. He noted that there are others on supply, buyer’s agreement, field development, licensing conditions, onshore works, and land matters that are currently being drafted.
Bharrat said the respective agreements and policies will be presented to the House when they have been agreed upon and executed. “All agreements are being done in a timely manner to meet final investment decision (FID) which will allow for the project to be completed by our committed deadline of December 2024,” the minister stated. Multinational law firm, Dentons, is providing legal and commercial advisory services along with negotiation support.
Bharrat recalled that just last week, the environmental permit for the GTE project was issued. This permit covers the development of the natural gas pipeline, materials offloading facility and natural gas liquids (NGL) plant.
Bharrat said the second permit for the gas-powered plant and NGL plant, to be constructed in an integrated facility, will be issued in a few weeks.
The GTE project is expected to be the most transformative initiative in the country’s history. It will provide for the transportation of natural gas from the Liza field in the Stabroek Block to the Wales Development Zone, where the onshore plants are to be built.
US-based partnership CH4/Lindsayca was granted a no-objection by the government to construct the 300 megawatts (MW) combined cycle power plant and natural gas liquids (NGL) facility. It had tendered a bid for work it valued at US$898 million.
The construction of the pipeline, to be led by Exxon, is expected to cost approximately US$1.3 billion. The current estimated cost of the entire project is approximately US$2.2 billion.
Engineers India Limited will supervise the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) of the onshore plant facility. Guyana is expected to hire another firm to operate the project.
