When Guyana discovered oil offshore, the country’s energy story changed immediately. A nation once known primarily for agriculture, gold and forestry suddenly became one of the world’s fastest-growing oil producers.
But beneath the same waters lies another resource that could shape the country’s next economic chapter: natural gas.
The question now facing Guyana is not whether gas exists. More than 17 trillion cubic feet of natural gas has already been discovered in the ExxonMobil-operated Stabroek Block.
The bigger question is what Guyana will do with it.
Will gas simply power homes and businesses, or could it become the foundation for new industries, exports and a broader energy economy?
Nearby Trinidad and Tobago offers a glimpse of what that future could look like.
For decades, Trinidad used natural gas to build more than an electricity system. It built petrochemical plants, liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, manufacturing industries and a workforce designed around the resource.
Guyana is now approaching its own decisions about how much gas should support electricity, domestic industry and possible exports.
Using gas to power Guyana
Guyana’s first major gas project places some focus on changing the way the country produces electricity.
The Gas-to-Energy project will bring natural gas from the Liza field in the Stabroek Block through a pipeline to Wales on the West Bank of Demerara.
There, the gas will feed a 300-megawatt combined-cycle power plant and a natural gas liquids (NGL) facility designed to process about 4,000 barrels per day of NGLs.
The power plant’s first gas turbine is targeted for startup before the end of 2026 and full commissioning is expected in 2027. A second phase is being contemplated, with additional plants and a higher volume of gas piped to shore.
For Guyana, this represents the first commercial use of offshore natural gas.
The expected benefits are significant: lower electricity costs, reduced reliance on imported heavy fuel oil and a stronger foundation for businesses that depend on reliable power.
But electricity may only be the beginning.
What else can Guyana do with gas?
Natural gas has an advantage over many other energy resources. It is not only a fuel for generating electricity and heat, but also a key industrial feedstock.
Countries that developed natural gas economies used the resource to produce fertilizer, chemicals, steel, plastics and other products that created value beyond the initial extraction.
Guyana’s next gas developments could determine whether the country follows a similar path.
Liza, Payara, Yellowtail, Uaru and Whiptail, are some oil developments that produce associated gas alongside crude. Longtail and Haimara represent a different opportunity.
They are being considered as gas-focused developments.
Longtail, proposed as the eighth Stabroek Block development, could become Guyana’s first standalone gas project. The development is expected to produce natural gas at up to 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) and approximately 250,000 barrels per day of condensate, subject to regulatory approval.
ExxonMobil has indicated that Longtail could support both LNG exports and domestic industrial use.
Haimara could further expand that opportunity. The proposed ninth Stabroek Block development is being advanced as a gas-focused project in the southeast section of the block and could process between 1 billion and 1.5 bcf/d.
Together, these projects bring Guyana to a critical point. Trinidad’s blueprint: when gas became bigger than oil
Trinidad and Tobago reached a similar turning point as its energy sector evolved. Already an established oil producer, the country recognized that natural gas had the potential to become an industry in its own right rather than simply a by-product of oil production.
In the 1970s, Trinidad began building a strategy around gas. The goal was not simply to export the resource. It was to create industries around it.
That strategy led to the creation of the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC) in 1975, an organization tasked with purchasing gas, developing pipeline infrastructure and connecting offshore production to industrial users.
One of the biggest outcomes was the development of the Point Lisas Industrial Estate.
Using natural gas as a feedstock, Point Lisas became home to:
- Ammonia production – Uses natural gas to produce ammonia, a key ingredient in fertilizer and one of Trinidad and Tobago’s major export products.
- Methanol manufacturing – Converts natural gas into methanol, a chemical used in products such as plastics, paints and fuels.
- Fertilizer production – Processes ammonia into fertilizers, including urea, for domestic use and export.
- Steel production – Uses natural gas in direct reduced iron production, a cleaner alternative to coal-based steelmaking.
- Power generation – Fuels electricity generation for industries, businesses and households.
- Other industrial operations – Supports desalination plants, manufacturing facilities, port services and other heavy industries located at the Point Lisas Industrial Estate.
Trinidad eventually expanded into LNG exports through Atlantic LNG, helping establish the country as one of the world’s major LNG exporters.
The lesson was clear: gas created the most value when it supported an ecosystem.
The pipelines mattered. The processing facilities mattered. But so did the industries and people built around them.
The workforce behind the gas economy
A gas industry cannot be built with infrastructure alone. It requires engineers to design and maintain facilities, technicians to operate equipment, and businesses capable of supporting the sector.
Trinidad invested heavily in workforce development through institutions such as the National Energy Skills Center and the University of Trinidad and Tobago.
Guyana is already investing in that effort.
Companies operating in Guyana’s oil sector, including ExxonMobil Guyana, SBM Offshore and MODEC, have launched training programs aimed at developing Guyanese technicians and engineers. At the same time, institutions such as the Guyana Technical Training College Inc. (GTTCI), the University of Guyana and initiatives supported under the Local Content Act are helping prepare workers for increasingly technical roles across the energy industry.
As Guyana’s gas sector develops, the demand will extend beyond offshore operations into manufacturing, services and industrial support.
Trinidad’s warning: a gas economy must keep finding gas
But Trinidad’s story is not only about success. It is also a warning.
After decades of supplying LNG facilities, power plants and petrochemical industries, Trinidad and Tobago is experiencing declining gas production as many of its offshore reservoirs mature.
While the country’s LNG production increased in 2025 for the first time since 2022, rising 5.8% to 17.59 million cubic meters from 16.63 million cubic meters in 2024, the improvement came after several years of declining output linked to falling upstream gas supply and the shutdown of Atlantic LNG’s Train 1 in 2020.
The country continues to face feedgas supply constraints that affect downstream industries, emphasizing the need for continued exploration and upstream investment.
For Guyana, this is an important lesson. The real decision is no longer how to use its gas, but how much of an economy it wants to build around it. Trinidad and Tobago has already shown one possible path.
