The gas-to-energy project, a partnership between the Guyana government and ExxonMobil Guyana, is estimated to create about 775 jobs. About 700 of these aggregate to the construction phase, while the remaining 75 are for the other aspects of the project life cycle.
They add to the myriad benefits already announced by the government, including an intended significant cut to the cost of power and lower emissions from Guyana’s energy sector.
The preliminary numbers, according to the project summary published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), account for workforce estimates spread across the five components/stages of the project.
The first component, the offshore pipeline installation, is estimated to employ approximately 300 workers at peak. “Estimate is preliminary and dependent on construction/installation and support vessels,” the summary states.
As for the onshore pipeline installation, it is estimated to employ 100 workers at peak, while the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant construction is estimated to employ approximately 300 workers at peak.
The Operations and Decommissioning components are estimated to employ approximately 25 and 50 workers at peak, respectively.
The summary states that the project is in the initial stages of planning and design. Hence, detailed estimates will follow the selection and contracting for the offshore and onshore scopes of work. The estimated peak construction workforce is about 600 persons or less, with accommodation needs served by existing lodging in the greater Georgetown area.
Furthermore, the summary states that in addition to those estimates, “there will be a comparatively smaller number of personnel providing shore base and logistical support onshore.”
“The onshore staff will be expected to ramp up gradually through the mobilization and installation stage until reaching a maximum level during the construction and installation activities, and then diminishing during operations. The onshore staff is expected to increase again briefly during decommissioning.”
ExxonMobil Guyana intends to share logistical support among all of its activities. The company will be submitting a decommissioning programme to the government for approval, prior to the end of the project life. Its decommissioning strategy will be selected in consultation with Guyanese agencies, based on a comparative assessment. Potential strategies are expected to be evaluated according to potential safety, environmental, technical and economic impacts, and associated mitigation measures.
With an estimated development cost of US$900M, the gas-to-energy project is designed to provide 250MW of power to the national grid, following its estimated operationalization period of late 2024.
