U.S. EXIM Bank Chair anticipates completion of Wales gas project

Apr 11, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – With a string of missed deadlines, ballooning project cost and a questionable contractor assigned to Guyana’s most costly venture, the United States Export Import (US EXIM) Bank is anticipating the completion of the Wales Gas-to-Energy (GTE) initiative.

The bank’s chairman, John Jovanovic flew to the capital city this week, amid a series of damning disclosures by Kaieteur News related to the tender process which raises serious questions about due diligence being conducted by the Government of Guyana (GoG).

On Friday, the United States Embassy issued a brief statement on the chairman’s visit and meeting with President Irfaan Ali at state house.

The embassy said the chairman discussed “delivering results for the Guyanese people.”

It said, “The gas-to-energy project remains a top priority-doubling electricity capacity, cutting costs by 50%, and providing cleaner, more reliable power to every household and business.” To this end, the bank’s chairman assured President Ali of the United States’ unwavering support to see this transformative project through to completion.

Meanwhile, in a video statement posted by the head of state, Jovanovic said the visit with his team focused on advancing “key initiatives” on the Guyanese-American relationship.

He added that his visit to the GTE site in Wales was “very important.” According to him, “We hope that it sends a very clear message to investors all around the world that Guyana is open for business and that the big red carpet that President Ali has rolled out is wide open for partnership and for great investment.”

The US Embassy in Guyana noted that the leaders held talks on financing options for future projects in the country. According to the US Embassy, “EXIM stands ready to finance additional development projects that align with Guyana’s national priorities, bringing the same transparency, competitive terms, and reliability that characterise U.S. partnership.”

In a separate statement, the Office of the President (OP) said discussions with the chairman and team centered current and future projects, including the GTE and others currently being funded by the bank in Guyana.

“President Ali and Mr. Jovanovic also discussed areas of priority, including food security, government efficiency and security for Guyana’s development,” OP stated.

Joining the president were several cabinet members and Chief of Defence Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Brigadier Omar Khan.

US Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot also attended the meeting.

The GTE project, which comprises a 12-inch pipeline to transport gas onshore was completed by ExxonMobil since the end of 2024. In the meantime, a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility and a 300-megawatt (MW) power plant is also being constructed by Lindsayca.

The NGL and power plant were initially pegged for completion in December 2024, but was delayed to the end of 2025. It was later advised that the initiative come online during the first quarter of 2026 but this has been pushed back to the end of the year again.

On Friday, this newspaper reported that although the Office of the Prime Minister claimed that construction activities were being done on a 24-hour basis, an independent investigation by this publication proved otherwise.

In its attempt to reassure the public, the OPM explicitly stated, “Work on many aspects of the construction is proceeding on a 24-hour basis.”

Our investigation revealed this to be entirely false. The reality on the ground is that the daily shift at the Wales site ends abruptly at 6:00 PM. By 6:30 PM, the vast majority of the workforce can be seen queuing at the bus stop near the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge, heading home for the night.

To corroborate this, our team deployed drones over the project site during nighttime hours on Tuesday evening, just moments after the statement came from government. Instead of a bustling, illuminated operation executing a “triple shift,” the aerial footage showed a dead stop. The site was dark and completely inactive, flatly contradicting the government’s narrative of a relentless, 24/7 construction effort (See video: https://youtu.be/G_6QJWvmaSk).

This newspaper was told the project will not meet its year-end deadline and is more likely come online by mid-2027. Industry experts are calling on the administration to provide a realistic, unembellished timeline for when the country will finally enjoy a 50% reduction on their electricity bills and reap the full economic benefits of its gas reserves.

Delays will continue costing this country at least $126 million monthly for the rental of two power ships to supplement the national grid. Not only that, but the contractor can also seek additional funds to meet expenses related to the project which government will be forced to supply to deliver lower cost electricity to the country as promised.

The visit by the chairman of the US EXIM Bank comes amid a series of troubling disclosures by Kaieteur News regarding the tender process that led to Lindsayca/CH 4 being hired and the company’s inexperience, tainted track record and appointment of Project Director, Ruben Figuera- a former PDVSA executive under the Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela.

Over the past week, Kaieteur News reported extensively on the procurement process where cheaper bids were ignored by the government to engage the company which submitted the highest bid and demonstrated a troubling financial position.

As the price tag on the venture continues to balloon, this newspaper exposed the luxury flights being chartered by the company to not only transport its executives on a weekly basis, but to import materials for the project at a much higher rate.

Back in December 2024 the US EXIM Bank gave its approval for a US$527 million loan to support the gas development at Wales.

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• EXIM Bank, gas-to-energy, John Jovanovic, Wales gas project

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