Govt. invites proposals for gas infrastructure to support upstream developments

Jan 15, 2024 News

Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana (GoG) has issued Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking private sector pitches for the design, financing, construction, and operation of gas infrastructure to support current and future upstream developments in Guyana. The RFP was issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources over the weekend.

Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat overlooks the management of Guyana’s oil and gas sector

According to the RFP, the government is seeking safe and timely development of the country’s gas resources. The notice states that the government is also looking to create an open-access infrastructure system. The system will serve both oil and gas developments, encompassing the necessary pipelines required to connect to the gas infrastructure crucial for monetizing upstream gas.

As part of the process, the selected applicant will have exclusivity to negotiate with the government for its entitlement of gas to ensure the viability of the project and the overall value chain. Notably, the project will be strictly financed and owned 100% by the selected private sector participant.

The RFP outlines several key requirements that potential developers must fulfill for consideration. The requirements include: the developer’s capability and credibility to execute such a project, clear written agreements among the parties, and if a consortium, evidence of consortium agreement for this project, site plan for the project, summarized and detailed project schedule, project costs, project structure diagram, business plan, list of legal agreements, proposed capital structure and details of proposed local content.

All proposals must be submitted by 09:00hrs on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), Ministry of Finance, Main & Urquhart Streets, Georgetown, Guyana. Late submissions will be rejected and returned unopened. Proposals should be valid for 120 days from the date of proposal opening.

The RPF comes months after the government unveiled Guyana’s National Gas Monetization Strategy. The government is now looking to expedite the monetization of the country’s gas assets, despite the reluctance of ExxonMobil Guyana, the operator of the oil-rich Stabroek Block, to focus on monetizing the gas assets.

Former Trinidad & Tobago Energy Minister, Kevin Ramnarine, was paid US$20,000 to prepare the heavily criticized strategy. Criticisms abound regarding the strategy’s lack of concrete steps and its viability in transforming potential options into realities. The draft strategy, unveiled on October 30, 2023, for public consultation by the natural resources ministry, has faced scrutiny for its vagueness and absence of actionable plans. Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo subsequently labeled it a “discussion paper” after acknowledging significant flaws during one of his press conferences.

This publication had highlighted that key elements like Methanol, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Ammonia/Urea production, and Hydrogen were discussed in the strategy. However, there is a glaring absence of detailed strategies for Guyana’s entry into these markets, raising doubts about the feasibility of the government’s approach.
Moreover, the government has teamed up with ExxonMobil for the almost US$2 billion Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project.