Guyana advances plans to commercialize natural gas

Guyana’s government is advancing its plans to monetize its natural gas resources in the Stabroek Block offshore, aiming to generate cheaper energy and produce various other products.

This initiative was confirmed by Bharrat Jagdeo, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and the nation’s Vice President.

“We believe we can monetize our gas through various methods. One option is to ship it out to an LNG floating platform. Another is to bring the gas onshore through a larger pipeline, not just the current 12-inch one, and use it for power generation,” Jagdeo stated during a recent press conference.

He highlighted that the power generated from natural gas could be sold to Northern Brazil, which currently buys from Venezuela.

“That’s a very lucrative venture. Additionally, we can use the gas for the petrochemical industry, which shows there is substantial potential for its use,” he added.

In January, President Mohamed Irfaan Ali announced plans to expedite the monetization of the country’s estimated 17 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas resources and called for proposals to achieve this goal. By March, the Ministry of Natural Resources was reviewing Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for a model to help Guyana monetize its gas assets.

“There have been some highly qualified firms expressing interest, saying, ‘we believe there is a viable project and we want to work on it.’ A company has now been selected by the evaluators, and this company will need to collaborate with ExxonMobil,” Jagdeo explained.

In October 2023, a draft of the Guyana Gas Monetization Strategy was released for public consultation. Jagdeo noted that the Ministry of Natural Resources is now working with a consultant to finalize this document, which is crucial for the gas monetization plans.

The draft strategy outlines various monetization options, such as using natural gas for power generation and producing methanol, liquefied natural gas (LNG), ammonia/urea, and blue ammonia/hydrogen.

Guyana began oil production in the Stabroek Block offshore in 2019. Besides oil, the block also contains recoverable natural gas resources. -(CMC)