Energy project will unlock tremendous opportunities for Guyana – President Ali

His Excellency Dr Irfaan Ali said that today’s energy contract signing, which will result in the construction of the 300-megawatt power plant in an integrated facility with a Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) plant, is extremely important to Guyana’s development trajectory.

The President called the moment “significant” for the country.

“This is the largest project that we would have embarked on as a country, and that brings with it its own challenges, but it also gives us an opportunity to build capacity.”

The project, the Head of State noted, transcends power generation, and gives rise to unlocking Guyana’s enormous potential.

“This project is not only about the generation of power and liquids…I’m sure understanding the opportunities that this project will unlock for us as a country is just enormous, from the liquids perspective from energy and building our competitiveness on the energy side.”

The Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for Wales, West Bank Demerara Gas-to-Shore project, was signed at the Office of the President between the Government of Guyana and the US-based partnership CH4/Lindsayca.

The EPC Contract will be supervised by a global supervision firm – Engineers India Limited.

ENERGY MASTER PLAN

The President acknowledged that while the US$759m project is a major accomplishment, his administration is not allowed much time to celebrate given the multitude of transformative projects underway, particularly now with a growing revenue base.

On this note, Dr Ali assured that the Gas to Shore project will not reduce the Government’s commitment to hydropower and the pursuit of a diversified portfolio of energy generation to be unparalleled and unmatched in the region.

“It also is linked to our strategic approach on energy that involves beyond our borders, and all of these things will be rolled out as we move forward with unlocking our energy master plan that is national and regional in nature.”

Government, he added, is “very proud that we have done everything within international norms and beyond to bring this project to the end”.

INSTRUMENTAL ROLE

President Ali recognised the instrumental role and unparalleled dedication of the Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, the task force and ExxonMobil in finalising what is the largest contract to be pursued by the Government in just two years.  He also praised the US Ambassador HE Sarah-Ann Lynch as well as the embassy in Georgetown for their assistance, along with countless young Guyanese for their positive involvement in the project.

He noted that the agreement speaks of Guyana’s strong bilateral relations and its diverse portfolio of projects.

“That tells you something about the country. That tells you something about the policymakers of the country. Our relationship with the US is not strengthened only because of this project. Our relationship with the US is strong because we stand on certain principles and values that are unshakable, including democracy, freedom, rule of law, transparency.”

The next step, the President said, is to move to complete the project on time while focusing on unlocking the other transformative projects that are on the way.

“As the Vice President remarked recently, we have really fulfilled all our commitments in the oil and gas sector, those are decisions that were hard to make, those decisions required consistency. We have always stood by our decisions, for any investor they need consistency, predictability, and they need to know they’re operating in a fair environment, and that is what the Government of Guyana is working on creating, an environment that is fair and just for the people of this country and also for investors.”

He also congratulated all stakeholders for their “remarkable job” and expressed anticipation towards working in a stronger way in realising the benefits of the project and towards the achievement of the transformation of Guyana’s communities and people.

Dr Bharrat Jagdeo and the US Ambassador also made brief remarks.

Permanent Secretary of the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr Derrick Cummings and Mr Michael Monroe from the Ministry of Natural Resources, along with Mr Nelson Drake and Mr Hector Fuentes on behalf of CH4/Linsayca, signed the contract.