Guyana advances second gas-to-shore project to diversify beyond oil
(Bloomberg) – Guyana is preparing a second pipeline that will bring natural gas from its deepwater oil fields to the shore where it will be used for power and other industrial development.
The project at Berbice, in the east of the South American country, will be finalized “very soon,” President Irfaan Ali told the Guyana Energy Conference in Georgetown on Tuesday. It will be a critical part of diversifying Guyana from its current oil-based economy to one that includes manufacturing, agri-processing and technology.
“It is because of what we’ve achieved offshore that these opportunities can now be realized and we want those opportunities in the hands of every single Guyanese,” Ali said.
Guyana is one of the world’s newest and fastest-growing oil producers after a major discovery by Exxon Mobil Corp. in 2015, but the country’s offshore fields also contain vast amounts of natural gas that Ali is keen to utilize as quickly as possible. While crude is exported around the world, Ali sees gas as a key tool to grow the domestic economy.
Ali wants to partner with neighboring Suriname for the second gas project, he said. It would allow it to “move from a medium-sized project to a larger-scale project,” he said.
Guyana aims to bring its first gas-to-shore pipeline online later this year that will produce about 300 megawatts of electricity at a newly-built power plant near Georgetown, the capital. It will help provide reliable, low-cost electricity in a country prone to blackouts.
