Guyana says GTP project has attracted more than 30 expressions of interest

The Guyanese government’s request for expressions of interest (EoIs) in a $900mn gas-to-power (GTP) project is attracting strong interest, according to Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat.

In an interview with OilNOW.gy, Bharrat reported that the EoI had drawn responses from more than 30 potential investors since July. He did not name any of the firms that might submit offers for the contract but said the potential bidders included companies from China, Europe, the US and nearby countries.

Additionally, he noted that several regional companies were looking to team up with Guyanese firms for the GTP project, which will use associated gas from oilfields at the offshore Stabroek block, operated by ExxonMobil (US), to generate electricity. “Some of our locals have also partnered with some regional actors too on their bids,” he stated.

He went on to say that the Guyanese government was keen to ensure a strong local-content element in the project, which is likely to prove “game-changing for the [Guyanese] economy and the development of our people.”

Bharrat also defended Georgetown’s move to raise the estimated cost of the GTP into the upper end of the originally projected range of $600-900mn. “There was a lot of talk by the political opposition about the cost of the project moving from $600mn to $900mn, but the scales being looked at are different,” he commented.

On one hand, he explained, Guyana is now looking to build a 12-inch (305-mm) pipeline from the Stabroek block to shore rather than a smaller 8-inch (203-mm) pipeline. This larger pipe will be able to handle associated gas from the Yellowtail section of Stabroek as well as the Liza-1 and Liza-2 sections, he said.

On the other hand, he noted, Guyana has also expanded the scope of its plans to utilise associated gas. “We are not only putting a power plant in place but a massive industrial manufacturing plant with a port facility. So we are using a 12-inch pipeline with a 250-MW power plant and 15 km of pipeline onshore ... and setting up industries to feed off of that,” he said.

Meanwhile, he added, officials in Georgetown have also received several proposals for the construction of fertiliser and petrochemical plants that could use associated gas from offshore fields for feedstock. However, the government may build these facilities later rather than include them in the GTP scheme, he said. The additional plants could be built on a modular basis as new offshore sources of associated gas become available, he explained.

According to previous reports, ExxonMobil’s plans for the GTP project envision the construction of a pipeline connecting the Stabroek offshore block to an onshore processing facility near Wales by 2024. The pipe will transfer gas from the floating production, storage and off-loading (FPSO) vessels installed at Liza-1 and -2 – and, eventually, Yellowtail – and pump it to the processing plant.

This processing plant will be able to process up to 50mn cubic feet (1.42mn cubic metres) per day of associated gas from the offshore oilfields. It will separate natural gas liquids (NGLs) out of the gas, isolating propane, butane and pentane from dry gas that can be used to generate electricity at a newbuild 250-MW thermal power plant (TPP).

Initially, the gas-processing facility will be owned by Guyana’s government. Officials in Georgetown have indicated that they are considering other ownership options for the future but have not yet announced a decision on this front.

The plant will be built on a 40.5-square km site on the west bank of the Demerara river and is scheduled for completion in 2024, two years after the Liza-2 field is due to begin production. (Liza-1 came online in late 2019.) The project is set to create about 600 jobs, most of which will be temporary positions in the construction field.

Guyanese officials have said they hope the construction of the pipeline and gas-processing plant will pave the way for a larger-scale gas project – namely, the establishment of an industrial hub similar to Point Lisas in Trinidad and Tobago. Point Lisas is home to multiple ammonia and methanol production facilities, and Guyana’s Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo has said that his country wants to do something similar, though “a little bit more eco-friendly.” The establishment of this larger facility could push the total number of new jobs created up to several thousand.