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American Professor urges Guyana to consider Gas Master Plan
By Shikema Dey
Kaieteur News – Susan Sakmar, a Professor at the University of Houston Law Center, has proffered a critical piece of advice to Guyana, as it ventures into the Natural Gas Sector – Consider a Gas Master Plan.
With plans already set in motion to land a multibillion dollar gas pipeline at Wales, West Bank Demerara for the intended gas-to-shore plant, Sakmar outlined that a Gas Master Plan would set a firm foundation for Guyana as it develops its gas project.
US Gas Professor, Susan Sakmar
She made those comments and more during the Guyana Basin Summit held on March 18, last.
“I do not think that Guyana has a Gas Master Plan but I think this is something they should consider soon. I would approach it step by step. Guyana has oil, with oil comes natural gas. So what do you do with that natural gas? Now that Government is planning on going along the power generation line, a Gas Master Plan is critical,” the American Professor said.
Professor Sakmar who has been a Shale Gas & Liquid Natural Gas lecturer for over 25 years pointed out that Guyana could look to West African Nation, Nigeria when crafting its Gas Master Plan.
When it comes to raw gas-to-power potential, Nigeria represents a major global player as the West African nation holds over 200 trillion cubic feet of recoverable reserves – the largest on the continent – and produces 1.2 billion cubic feet per day, according to the Department of Petroleum Resources of Nigeria.
Nearly half of its production is exported, and Nigeria ranks as the fifth largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter globally. With the aim of laying a solid framework gas infrastructure expansion within the domestic market, the Nigerian Gas Master Plan was approved on February 13, 2008 to be a guide for the commercial exploitation and management of Nigeria’s gas sector.
Furthermore, Nigeria’s Gas Master Plan contained three major components: the Domestic Gas Supply Obligation, the Gas Pricing Framework and the Gas Infrastructure Blueprint – three critical elements Sakmar outlined that Guyana should pay attention to.
“It was because of Nigera’s clear plan on how it wanted to place itself among the big league of Natural Gas producers and plans to effectively develop the resource, that it is a success today and Guyana should look at that too, examine how it wants the project to be and benefits before going ahead,” Professor Sakmar added.
Meanwhile, industry experts are paying keen attention as Guyana embarks on the Gas-To-Shore route with many already offering advice that a clear cut plan is needed before any significant development is made with the project.
Concerns have been mounting over the past two months since government is moving at a fast pace, with none of the critical studies being conducted prior, chief among which is a Financial Feasibility Study.
That study, according to Guyana’s Vice President and local oil boss, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo is a “no-brainer” as the benefit of having significant reduction in electricity costs is enough to give the project the stamp of approval. Several local stakeholders disagree with him.
Info Box: A Gas Master plan contains projections of the country’s demand and supply as much as the infrastructure requirements that are needed to realize the country’s projections in regards to gas exploitation. Gas Master Plans (GMPs) are meant to address two issues: Design Optimization and Operational Optimization.
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