The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) confirmed that its Board approved a $526 million loan to Guyana in support of the country’s landmark Gas-to-Energy project.
The financing from the transaction will aid the construction of a natural gas separation plant, a 300 megawatts (MW) combined cycle gas turbine power plant and services related to the gas supply pipeline near Guyana’s capital, Georgetown, the Bank said.
The project’s purpose is to have offshore natural gas be transported to shore, mainly for power generation. A pipeline was installed this year by ExxonMobil. The project is expected to replace heavy fuel oil as Guyana’s main source of power, facilitating a reduction in the cost of power by 50% and in the volume of emissions. The Bank said the project will result in a reduction of more than 460,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, the equivalent of consuming more than one billion barrels of oil.
The loan financing will support a U.S. joint venture involving Lindsayca, a Texas-based company, and CH4 Systems, a Puerto Rican small business, and services provided by ExxonMobil. The Bank said the loan will also support more than one dozen U.S. companies, and is expected to support an estimated 1,500 jobs across 11 states and territories.
Steam turbines and oil tanks arrived in Guyana for the project last week.
Bank President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis said, “I am extremely pleased that the Board of Directors approved this strategically important energy project… Not only is EXIM continuing its support of U.S. businesses small and large, but this project will support more than one thousand jobs across the country. I am especially proud to continue to support Bank priorities and charter mandates along with projects that align with the administration’s economic, energy, and national security priorities.”
The loan falls under EXIM’s China and Transformational Exports Program (CTEP), which helps support U.S. companies facing competition from China.
