The tender issued by the Government for a company to manage the construction of the gas-to-shore project has attracted significant interest beyond Guyana’s shores, with Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat noting that companies have been reaching out.
In an interview, Bharrat was asked by this publication what the response has been since the Government issued a tender for an international firm to manage the construction phase of the integrated Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) plant and the 300 MW power plant, all part of the gas-to-shore project.
Noting that there is significant interest in the project, the Minister said that the ideal company will be one that is very experienced in these kinds of projects. He explained that this company will have the important role of acting on behalf of the Government while interfacing with the contractor, ExxonMobil.
“That advertisement is out presently. We have also issued an RFP (Request for Proposals) for the nine prequalified companies that submitted Expressions of Interest when we would have advertised initially for companies to design and build the powerplant. So that will close off sometime in September. The closing date for the procurement of the company is in August.”
“We’re hoping that we can attract companies with the kind of experience and expertise to manage a project of such magnitude. There is interest. I can tell you that. But we have to wait until the closing date. Because as I mentioned in August and September. So, we still have time. But I know companies have been reaching out to us for additional information.”
In addition to seeking an international firm to manage the construction phase of the project, the Government had also issued Requests for Proposals a few weeks back to the companies that were prequalified earlier this year.
Exxon had submitted an environmental study for a US$1.3 billion gas-to-shore project earlier this year to the Environmental Protection Agency. The gas-to-shore project, which has a 25-year lifespan, is expected to employ up to 800 workers during the peak construction stage, as well as some 40 full-time workers during the operations stage, and another 50 workers during the decommissioning stage.
It features approximately 220 kilometres of a subsea pipeline offshore that will run from the Destiny and Unity Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels in the Stabroek Block to onshore. Upon landing on the West Coast Demerara shore, the pipeline will continue approximately 25 kilometres to the NGL plant at Wales, West Bank Demerara.
The pipeline would be 12 inches and is expected to transport some 50 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of dry gas to the NGL plant but has the capacity to push as much 120 mmscfd.
The pipeline’s route onshore will follow the same path with the fibre optic cables and will terminate at Hermitage, part of the Wales Development Zone (WDZ) which will house the gas-to-shore project.
The Guyana Government has already invited interested parties to make investments in the Wales Development Zone, which will be heavily industrialised and for which approximately 150 acres of land has been allocated. Those lands were previously used by the Wales Sugar Estate.
Head of the Gas-to-Shore Task Force, Winston Brassington has previously stated that ExxonMobil Guyana, which is funding the pipeline aspect of the project out of cost oil, has found that there would be substantial savings from combining these two facilities.
Hence, it was agreed that the power plant and the NGL plant be done under a combined Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) process. The aim is to deliver rich gas by the end of 2024 for the power plant while the NGL facility is slated to be online by 2025.
