Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) issued a notice to mariners to navigate with extreme caution, as ExxonMobil moves to commence pipelaying activities.
MARAD has provisioned June 1 – November 1 as the period for these activities. It said the shallow water pipe laying barge “Stingray” will be engaged in the activities, and is expected to be supported by up to 15 other vessels in support of the operation.
The pipe laying area stretches from the coast to approximately 39 nautical miles (72.2 kilometres) offshore Guyana and covers an area of 65 square nautical miles (225 square kilometres), MARAD said.
Exxon hired Van Oord and Subsea 7 to lay the offshore pipeline, and SICIM and GAICO for the onshore pipeline.
The commencement of these activities comes after years of planning and criticism of the Gas-to-Energy project.
While these activities are underway, there are still some financial matters to iron out. The Stabroek Block partners are waiting on the Guyana Parliament to approve a revision to the Liza field documents before making their final investment decisions. The Guyana government is also awaiting the US EXIM Bank to approve an application for a substantial loan to support the aspect of the project it is responsible for – the integrated gas processing facility at Wales. It has hired a US consortium of CH4 and Lindsayca for this purpose. Government is also seeking a contractor to install transmission infrastructure.
The project development is expected to cost about US$2 billion altogether, and is on schedule to be completed at the end of 2024.
