Latest update December 17th, 2024 2:00 AM
Gov’t teams up with US firm to develop another gas monetisation strategy
…after paying US$20k to ex-T&T Minister
Kaieteur News- The Ministry of Natural Resources recently disclosed its partnership with S&P Global to guide the development of a Gas Monetisation Strategy.
The announcement follows a release of a draft Gas Monetization Strategy, prepared by former Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) Energy Minister, Kevin Ramnarine.
Following its release for national consultation, the National Gas Strategy was widely criticised. In fact, Vice President (VP), Bharrat Jagdeo, who previously expressed enthusiasm about the strategy, conceded that there were several known issues with the 43-page document before labelling it a “discussion paper.” It was reported that Ramnarine was paid some US$20,000 to prepare the National Gas Strategy for Guyana.
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat.
Government had also previously criticised S&P for its pronouncement on Guyana’s oil reserves. At the time, Guyana’s reserves had not been updated in over two years, although eight new discoveries had been made in the Stabroek Block, operated by oil major, ExxonMobil.
Jagdeo disputed the figures presented by S&P, indicating that the reserves had not significantly grown from its last estimate of 11 billion barrels. He said, “You quoted some agency from abroad that has given a high figure, there has been no major change in the report that we receive.” S&P has been a trusted source, providing global analytics and financial information. Guyana is actively pursuing the use of natural gas in the Liza One and Liza Two fields for the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project. The government has also hired another US firm, Fulcrum LNG to design, finance, construct, and operate the required gas infrastructure to provide gas monetisation solutions and accelerate upstream gas developments in the country. Discussions between the GoG, ExxonMobil and Fulcrum are said to be ongoing.
Though the government did not reveal additional details about its partnership with S&P, the Ministry highlighted challenges to the development of the country’s gas resources. According to the Ministry, this will require a robust framework. Additionally, it noted the need to assess gas measurement capacity and training for related agencies such as the Guyana National Bureau of Standards and the Guyana Revenue Authority, as well as technical officers at the Ministry.
Meanwhile, the Ministry said there may be need for additional infrastructure to facilitate the additional staff, after being trained, for gas measurement. Moreover, it was explained that a list of 22 standards have been recommended by an Inter-Agency Technical Committee and approved by the National Standards Council as National Standards to date. This requires focus on implementation. Guyana has an estimated gas reserve of 17 trillion cubic feet. Government has been consistent with its intent to develop these resources to generate additional revenue for the country.
(Gov’t teams up with US firm to develop another gas monetisation strategy)
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