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Two-year delay of Wales gas project costing Guyana $884M more
(Kaieteur News) – The two-year delay of the Wales Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project is expected to cost the country approximately US$884M more than the initial cost of the two gas plants currently under construction.
The two plants initially pegged at US$759M is likely to double due to the increasingly high import bill for Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO), rental of powerships and a costly legal dispute.
Notwithstanding, the government hopes that the project could start up by the end of the year, but by then, the financial hemorrhage to the country would be severe.
An artist’s impression of the Wales GTE project.
Fuel import bill
The country was initially informed of a 2024 year-end startup for the Wales project- intended to slash electricity tariffs by half and supply stable, cleaner energy. Due to delays in the site preparation phase, government is now anticipating that the project will come online by end of this year- a timeline experts believe is unattainable.
In the meantime, Guyana is forced to swallow an increasingly expensive pill: the exorbitant cost of importing HFO to keep the lights on in the country which amount to an eye- watering US$619M for the two-year period.
Since January 2025, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) have relied almost entirely on imported HFO. During the 2026 budget defense by the PPP, it was revealed that GPL’s base fuel bill stands at a staggering GY$47 billion per annum—roughly US$18.78 million every month—with 93% of that fuel being HFO.
The situation is rapidly worsening. Recently, Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips revealed a shocking 74.8% average increase in fuel import costs since the beginning of 2026.
But here is what that actually means for the country. During 2025, operating at the baseline of US$18.78 million monthly, the import bill was approximately US$225.36 million.
With the Prime Minister’s acknowledged 74.8% surge, the monthly bill skyrockets to over US$32.83 million. From January to May 2026 alone adds another US$164.15M to the furnace.
Should this inflated price for HFO be applied to keep the country powered to the end of this year, it means the fuel import bill for 2026 will be a staggering US$393.96M.
Consequently, the two-year delay in startup of the GTE project is costing this country a whopping US$619.32M in fuel imports alone.
It was reported that the GoG signed a contract with the GTE contractor, Lindsayca/ CH4 to construct a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant and 300-megawatt power plant to the tune of US$759M.
This means that Guyana will be paying almost double the initial project cost given the lengthy delay in delivery, forcing the country to import HFOs.
Powership costs
It should be noted that in addition to the fuel cost for GPL, Guyana was forced to hire two Turkish powerships to supplement the national grid. The rental bill on the country is GY$126M daily, as was previously highlighted by Interim Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), David Patterson.
He explained that in addition to the daily rental fee of $48.8 million for the two barges, Guyana is also saddled with a daily fuel cost of $72.6 million and $4.2 million daily for transportation expenses. As such, he pointed out that Guyana is paying close to $126 million daily to generate power at the ships.
According to a document seen by this publication, which was provided to the National Assembly on April 22, 2025, during the consideration of the 2025 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure Guyana, the total daily cost to rent both ships is $48,847,450. Therefore, for the first year Guyana paid $17,829,319,104. The two years combined would cost the country $35,658,68,208 or U.S.$165,854,131.
Legal dispute
In addition to the rental of power, and the heavy import bill for fuel, Guyana was also caught in a legal dispute with the contractor, Lindsayca/ CH4. The GoG recently admitted that it was forced to pay out a US$97M settlement to the consortium. Government also paid close to US$2M for the battery of lawyers that represented Guyana during the dispute process.
As such, the extensive delays in project is expected to cost Guyana a massive US$884M more.
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