Pursuing the fulfillment of its Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) up to 2030, the government wants involvement from all levels of society in its national sustainability plan, even oil companies.
In promotion of this, the government and the Stabroek Block consortium included in the recently awarded Yellowtail permit, a new provision which requires the companies to submit a study to government on how they can help.
Exxon to provide Guyana with carbon capture roadmap for US$10B Yellowtail project
During a press conference on Wednesday, Vice President Dr. Jagdeo explained that this was inserted because government is hoping international oil companies contribute to Guyana’s fight against climate change.
“Being here, we believe that they can make a contribution to our target for decarbonising the energy sector, which means investing in renewable resources and [so on] over time,” Dr. Jagdeo said.
Apart from such projects, the Vice President discussed interventions by oil companies for the betterment of their operations.
“We hope that everyone, including the oil companies operating here would move to cutting edge technology in their sector,” he said.
He reminded that government had authorised ExxonMobil to conduct a study on carbon capture and storage (CCS). This was also reflected in the Yellowtail permit.
Exxon granted approval from Guyana to conduct carbon-capture study – VP Jagdeo
Renewable energy and carbon capture projects are already underway in many other countries with the aid of international oil companies. For example, in Trinidad and Tobago, the twin-island nation’s government is finalising a pact with a joint venture including Shell and BP, for the 112-megawatt (MW) solar initiative, Project Lara.
While the Guyana government expects such investments from oil companies, the 250 MW Gas-to-Energy project is already in the works. Though not renewable, it will significantly reduce emissions associated with electricity generation, and is gearing up to be the single most transformative project in the country’s history.
Guyana’s planned energy mix will source power from natural gas, hydro, solar, wind and biomass. The government is working to have at least two-thirds of the energy sector powered by renewable sources by 2035.
