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Govt. will not be bound by recommendations outlined in Exxon’s Gas Utilisation Strategy – VP Jagdeo
Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana (GoG) will not be bound by recommendations contained in ExxonMobil’s Gas Utilisation Strategy, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said on Thursday.
The Vice President was at the time speaking at his weekly press conference held at the Office of the President.
Jagdeo acknowledged that the government missed the year-end deadline for its own National Gas Strategy but assured that it will be forging ahead with the US$2B Gas-to-Energy project.
“We will finalize the Gas Strategy, and we will make that public. We will take into account, the Exxon Gas Utilization Strategy but we are not going to be bound by that strategy,” Jagdeo said.
“Our strategy, our goal is clear. We want to advance investment in gas development as early as possible. And so, clearly, that has to be,” he added.
The Vice President did not provide a new date for the strategy to be finalised.
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo
Jagdeo had announced that with help from India, a National Gas Strategy is being developed. Exxon is currently conducting a number of gas-related studies, and is expected to produce a Gas Utilization Plan.
He warned that should the company fail to effectively utilize the gas; the Government will be left with no other choice but to relinquish it.
The Vice President went on to state that even in the absence of the strategy, the Government will test the market.
“Even before the completion of the strategy, because we know what the goal is, even before that, to test the market, because we are told that there aren’t many people right now, who may be interested in funding because of the magnitude of the fund. We believe that based on bilateral contacts with us, people making specific proposals… which we don’t want to go through directly, that we just test the market,” Jagdeo explained.
The Vice President had previously expressed enthusiasm about the PPP-administration’s gas strategy, emphasizing its role in the government’s larger plan to monetize some 17 trillion cubic feet of gas found in the Stabroek Block.
“We’ve made it clear; we want to monetize our gas assets. This strategy will outline our approach to the industry,” he said.
Moreover, Guyana is actively pursuing the use of natural gas in the Liza One and Liza Two fields for the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project, under construction at Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD). ExxonMobil Guyana is set to fund a 12-inch pipeline to transport the resource to Wales, where a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant will process and separate the gas for use in a power plant.
This power plant is expected to generate 300 megawatts of electricity for the national grid and produce products like cooking gas for sale, aligning with the government’s goal of energy self-sufficiency. Despite some expert concerns about the projects’ nearly US$2 billion cost, the government remains resolute about its viability.
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