The landmark gas to energy project being planned by authorities in Guyana will be best run through the partnership the country has with ExxonMobil since the oil major has vast experience in delivering major projects on time and on budget. This is the view shared by Dr. Dennis Pieters, Director and Chief Reservoir Engineer at Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas, a partner in the Canje Block offshore Guyana.
“I think it’s a very good project. We do need cheap energy in Guyana. Right now, we have one of the highest energy costs in the Caribbean,” Dr. Pieters pointed out. He was speaking at the time on an Americas Market Intelligence (AMI) panel held on December 9 titled Guyana & Suriname: Developing a Low Carbon Strategy in Emerging Oil Markets.
The Guyanese engineer said he worked for Saudi Aramco for a very long time and saw firsthand the impact the company had on that country’s development in partnership with ExxonMobil.
“Aramco was actually the go-to company for Saudi Arabia. If they needed museums built, if they needed schools built, whatever they needed built – any large-scale project they had going, the company Aramco provided that service,” he said. “I think something similar would probably be a good idea in Guyana.”
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Exxon is the operator of the prolific Stabroek Block offshore Guyana where it has made well over 20 discoveries since 2015, amounting to more than 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The company started producing oil in the South American country in December 2019 and has multiple projects lined up that will catapult Guyana to one of Latin America and the Caribbean’s top oil producers.
“Exxon…they are accustomed to working on large projects, bringing them, you know, on time and in budget and have worked with suppliers so they have the expertise to do that. And that sort of project would probably be best run-in partnership with Exxon,” Dr. Pieters stated.
The gas to energy project will utilise associated natural gas from ExxonMobil’s Liza field with the pipeline passing through Crane and other communities before landing at Wales on the West Bank of Demerara where a power generation facility will be constructed.
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The offshore pipeline will be connected to an underground pipeline onshore that will be 27 km long and 12 inches in diameter. It is expected to follow existing roads/canals within a corridor selected by the government.
The project is expected to last for at least 25 years and is generally anticipated to have a positive effect on the economy of Guyana as a result of more affordable and reliable electricity, as well as increased local employment and procurement opportunities.
