Speaker “waters-down” Gas-to-Shore Motion

Jan 12, 2022 News

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– finally places it on order paper three months after submission

Kaieteur News – The Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, has finally approved a motion by Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), David Patterson on the controversial US$900 million Gas to Shore Project, submitted over 70 days ago, but not before removing a number of critical resolved clauses.

In response to a letter Patterson sent on Saturday, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Sherlock Isaacs, informed the MP that the Speaker has approved the Motion to be published on the Notice Paper. Approval was granted by him on January 10, 75 days after submission by Patterson.
According to the document “His Honour examined the motion, as altered by him and amended by you, and found it to be in order”.
In his motion, Patterson asked that the Gas-to-Shore Project’s final decision be put on hold until the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources presents its Report to the Assembly for debate and approval.
The Shadow Oil and Gas Minister has requested that comprehensive studies be conducted by independent, internationally-recognised consultants to inform the decision. Furthermore, the motion outlines that an investigation should be done to understand the geological, environmental, and safety risks with mitigative actions, from pipeline leaks, ruptures and movements that may be caused by defective construction, aging, corrosion, seabed landforms, mudslides, hurricanes, tsunami, faults, fractures, and seismic activities such as earthquakes and volcanoes.
Additionally, the MP requested analyses of the available technology for real-time monitoring of the deep-water pipeline to ensure its integrity and reliable detection of subsurface leaks and the environmental, safety and health risks with mitigative actions associated with accommodating the gaps in technology.
The motion also calls for the investigation of the health, safety, and environmental risks with mitigative actions posed by the shallow draft and worsening marine traffic congestion at the mouth of the Demerara River; and “an analysis of the economic, social, and environmental renewable alternatives such as solar, hydropower and wind, including an energy mix with phasing, thereof; consistent with our overall effort to achieve a low carbon economy and compliance with the Paris Agreement on climate change”.
The motion will be debated on January 24.
In a brief telephone interview, Patterson said that he was happy that the motion will finally be allowed. He however reminded that certain aspects of his initial request have been removed by the Speaker.
One such omitted clause, was seeking discussions on gas leakages and exposures in the marine environment, which have shown to be highly toxic to fish, and living organisms and the ecology, which could devastate the fishing industry.
Another of the omitted clause from the motion had indicated that “whereas determined in a March 2021 United States Bureau of Environmental Enforcement (US Offshore oil & gas regulator) comprehensive report, that the technology is not matured and reliable enough to ensure the integrity of deep-water pipelines and detection of subsurface leaks.”
The Speaker has however changed his mind about the cost analysis of the initiative, when compared to alternative power generating options, as he will now allow an analysis of the economic, social, and environmental renewable alternatives such as solar, hydropower and wind, among others.
In this regard, Patterson said, “We look forward to debating it and obviously a successful passage. Hopefully we can have it sent to the Committee of Natural Resources for determination and then come back to the Parliament. It’s too big a project for the government side alone to just do it”.
Under the revised scope of works for the Gas to Shore Project, the government says it intends to build, “combined cycle turbines, multiple fuel consumption (including rich and lean natural gas [per specification to be provided upon request], Natural gas liquids and diesel) Power Plant to generate up to 300MW of power with a net 250MW delivered into the Guyana Power and Light grid at a substation located on the East Bank of Demerara.”

Additionally, the project will include 230 Kilo Volt (KV) substation and back up fuel capacity. As it relates to the NGL Plant, this is expected, under the revised scope of works, to be able to process 60 million cubic feet of natural gas per day in the first phase and up to 250 million cubic feet of gas in the second phase. Additionally, the plant must be capable of conditioning the gas (dehydration and mercury removal) and removing heavier hydrocarbons (propane, butane, pentane plus) in liquid form.
The project, according to the Ministry, will be located at Hermitage, identified as part of the Wales Development Zone with some 150 acres of land allocated for its purpose.

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