Guyana’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Center will be built in Berbice, powered by energy from the country’s second gas development project, President Dr. Irfaan Ali announced on April 12.
Describing the initiative as a major technological leap, President Ali said the AI center will be a direct spin-off of the Berbice gas project, designed to provide stable and abundant energy to support large-scale digital infrastructure.
“Here is where we’re going to bring power on stream to have the AI data center built in region six,” he said during a community meeting in New Amsterdam.
The AI center is intended to complement several projects planned for the region, including a US$285 million port facility and a deepwater port.
“This is the future we are building — a future where smart infrastructure, technology, and energy converge to create opportunities for every Guyanese,” Ali added.
Industry expert Aly Orady, Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Tonal, cautioned that while AI presents tremendous economic opportunities, it also demands significant energy resources.
Speaking at the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo in February, Orady said, “AI is actually a very energy-hungry technology. The amount of energy consumption by data centers, which is where AI runs and is hosted, is expected to grow 10 times over the next five years.”
He noted that these facilities can consume between 50 and 100 megawatts of energy daily. “Economies that are energy-rich have a strategic advantage globally because these data centers need to be built where the energy is,” Orady explained.
Construction has already been completed on the pipeline for Guyana’s first Gas-to-Energy project, which will transport gas from the Liza field to shore at a rate of 120 million cubic feet per day.
The gas will be processed at an integrated facility in Wales, West Bank Demerara, which includes a 300-megawatt power plant and a natural gas liquids (NGL) separation unit.
Guyana is on a fast track to becoming a global energy powerhouse. ExxonMobil recently revealed plans to increase oil production in the Stabroek Block to 1.7 million barrels per day by 2030.
Alongside oil, the company is advancing gas development efforts critical to fueling new industries.
