Govt. inks Order for State to acquire lands for US$900M gas pipeline

Aug 14, 2021 News

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Kaieteur News – The PPP/C Government has signed off an Order under the Acquisition of Land for Purposes Act to secure a 30-meter wide corridor of land for the laying of a Natural Gas pipeline between its landing site on the West Coast of Demerara and the Wales Development Zone located on West Bank Demerara.

The Order, signed by Substantive Minister with responsibility for the Public Works portfolio, Bishop Juan Edghill, has since been published in the Official Gazette and was made under the Substantive Act on Friday last.
According to the Order, it provides for lands to be declared for public work namely the proposed construction of “gas pipeline from Nouvelle Flanders on the West Coast Demerara, passing through lands described in the schedule, is declared as public work.”
The Order prescribes authority on the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys, “together with his agents, servants or workmen, (all of whom are) authorised to enter upon the said lands for the purpose of surveying or otherwise examining such lands with a view to the acquisition of the whole or part of the said lands for the construction of the public work referred to,” namely the onshore gas pipeline and related works.

Under the schedule, the lands identified commences at the foreshore of Plantation Nouvelle Flanders with a corridor approximately 30 meters.
The route, as proposed in the schedule identifies the corridor then traversing in a southern direction to the sideline dam between Plantation Vreed-en-Hoop and its landing site onshore.
From this site, the proposed 30-meter corridor will traverse Plantation L’Union, Rotterdam, Mary and Harlem Wallers Delight and Ruimzeight for some 945 metres.
The corridor would then proceed south for approximately 795 metres across Plantation Vreed-en-Hoop, Klien Poudereyon, Malgre Tout and Versailles to the sideline separating Versailles and Lust en Rust.

At this juncture, the proposed pipeline corridor will then proceed south for approximately 884 metres along the said sideline to Canal Number One Public Road, after which, the corridor will turn west for approximately 30 meters along the public road to the sideline between L’Orataire and Plantation Bordeauz, turning south for another 580 metres before snaking its way through Canal Number Two and eventually to its Wales destination.
The gazzetted Order had exactly four days before the National Assembly passed the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) (Amendment) Bill 2021 to ensure that private lands acquired for the laying of a fibre optic cable as well as the establishment of the US$900M gas-to-energy project, are done so lawfully and that there is fair compensation for citizens.
Leading the debate at the time of the sitting, held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), was Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat.
He, at the time, noted that the Amendment Bill is intended to enhance Section 52 of the Principle Act to ensure government has oversight in the acquisition of the lands to realise key projects in the oil sector.
In addition, he said subsection (2) of the Act was amended to provide that a landowner or lawful occupier’s consent might either be given unconditionally or subject to such conditions as are specified in the instrument of consent. Bharrat said these additions allow for a degree of transparency and accountability not accommodated by the previous provisions.
He further noted that the Bill addresses matters concerning the landing, installation and operation of pipelines or submarine, fibre optic or terrestrial cables or similar infrastructure by licencees for, or in connection with, prospecting or production operations, in relation to State land, Government land, land wholly owned by State entities or in which any controlling interest is vested in the State and any land identified by law or on a plan drawn and approved in accordance with any law for reserves. The Minister had said this is necessary to better accommodate onshore development with its entire accompanying heavy infrastructural works.
The Minister was keen to note that this amendment would apply to existing licencee operations such as those being led by ExxonMobil as well as those who may come to shore for future development.
Once the fibre optic cable is laid, Bharrat said it would allow the government to have real time monitoring of production offshore on all Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSOs) vessels as well as the exploration activities by drill ships. As for the US$900M gas-to-energy project, he said it would allow for Guyana to realise its dream of having cheaper electricity, an effective and efficient value-added industry, and in the next few years, a thriving petro-chemicals sector.

 

 

 

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