Guyana has reportedly decided to build a 220km-long subsea gas pipeline as it seeks to become one of the top oil producers in South America over the next four years.
GoInvest CEO Peter Ramsaroop was cited by Bloomberg as saying that the new pipeline will also serve the proposed gas-fired power plant, construction on which is planned to start in 2022.
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Ramsaroop in an interview with the publication said: “The start date of laying the pipe is now being finalised, but the decision has already been made.
“Guyana must have the gas and hydropower to be able to bring a competitive economy to the point where we can depend on our own energy to deliver our goods and services.”
GoInvest is a Guyana Government agency that encourages foreign direct investment.
The proposed pipeline will have a gas transport capacity of about 50 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) from ExxonMobil-operated Liza Phase 1 and 2 projects.
Despite Guyana being a new energy wealth nation, the country mainly uses imported fuel oil to produce power, thus making its electricity unreliable and expensive.
In order to overcome the issue, the government is now keen on supporting the development of Exxon Mobil’s ‘massive’ offshore oil discoveries in the country.
Earlier this month, ExxonMobil said it increased the gross recoverable resource estimate for the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana by nearly one billion oil-equivalent barrels following a significant discovery.
According to the updated resource estimate, the block holds approximately ten billion barrels of oil equivalent, including the new discovery at the Cataback-1 well.
In a separate announcement, BHP has secured 3D seismic survey approval from Barbados’ government for the Bimshire and Carlisle Bay offshore blocks.
The firm is planning to start the survey in the December 2021 quarter, the company said in its operations update.
