The growing activity offshore the South American country of Guyana is likely to hit peak in the latter part of this decade and will require large shorebase support services which is something the new oil producing nation will have to begin considering.
So says former Trinidad and Tobago Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs, Kevin Ramnarine speaking on ‘Guyana’s Oil and You’ a programme aired on Kaieteur Radio in Guyana’s capital – Georgetown.
Ramnarine outlined the growth of the operations offshore, pointing out that it will move from one FPSO at present to at least five towards the middle of the decade in addition to multiple drillships and support vessels.
“Right now, I am told you have one FPSO out there, you have four drillships out there and you have about 15 support vessels. So, there is quite an armada out there right now of assets and by assets, I mean drillships, FPSO, and support vessels,” he noted.
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The offshore operations are currently supported by majority Guyanese-owned port company – Guyana Shore Base Inc. (GYSBI) which has moved from operating on a 12-hour basis employing just a handful of Guyanese to what is now a 24-hr facility with a 94% local workforce. As the offshore operations multiply, Ramnarine said demand for these types of services will increase.
“That is going to multiply significantly by 2025 so Guyana has to give thought now to the shorebase infrastructure that supports that expanding industry because the industry is going to keep expanding in Guyana until it reaches its peak which would be sometime in the late part of this decade,” he stated.
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Stressing the magnitude of Guyana’s oil production potential, Ramnarine said, “Wood Mackenzie estimates that Guyana would become only the 11th nation in the history of the world to produce over one million barrels of oil per day. Only 10 countries have done that in world history and we know who those countries are. More than likely the USA, Russia, Saudi Arabia, probably Iran, Iraq and so on…Kuwait. So, Guyana joins that elite club of high oil-producing [countries].”
WoodMac has said its analysis models more than 8 billion barrels of oil and phased development will lift output to over 1.1 million b/d by 2028. “The giant oil fields will deliver untold riches to this nation of only 0.8 million people,” WoodMac said, adding that Guyana will, as output builds, rise to be king of the heap.
