Guyana’s Gas to shore project will secure prosperity in the region

– experts discuss during Guyana Business Journal webinar

Guyana has an extremely bright future ahead with the booming oil and gas sector and is on the brink of achieving energy security.

Addressing the Guyana Business Journal webinar recently, Global energy strategist and Vice President of Eversource Energy, Roger Kranenberg highlighted that the gas-to-energy project will secure prosperity into the region.

“Once you get the gas-to-shore, and you strip off the propane, you offset the propane imports and you use that gas to generate electricity and you do it through aero-derivative turbines, which are used on FPSOs, that’s half of the reliability,” he explained.

Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Petroleum Studies, University of the West Indies, Dr Lorraine Sobers, noted that Guyana has begun to move away from energy insecurity with the development of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), and emphasised the need for reliable power generation and distribution.

 “It is critical to so many services, spanning from healthcare to communication to commerce. So, in the next decade, we’re looking at an increase in demand. Another challenge would be the decarbonisation of power generation,” she said.

The LCDS seeks to align its operations with global climate change goals. The administration’s manifesto promise featured a dedication to developing measures to decarbonise the economy, especially the transport sector.

Further, Dr. David Lewis of the Caribbean Policy Consortium and Manchester Trade Cooperation stressed the need for collaborative efforts among the government, private sector and civil society to facilitate the dispersion of profits across the country.

“That has to do with how are we going to use these new resources, this new technology, this linkage to some of the most competitive and benchmark private companies in the world now operating in Guyana, to figure out how we get from double-digit non-reliable 24/7 power to single digit 24/7 power for Guyana and eventually for the rest of the Caribbean,” Lewis relayed.

Government continues to engage stakeholders to facilitate a sustainable energy future. The country’s developing National Gas Strategy will open opportunities for trade and energy security between Guyana and its bilateral partners.

The establishment and implementation of several lucrative projects will profoundly alter the social and economic tapestry of Guyana. The Wales gas-to-energy project will cut electricity costs by more than half. The project will see Guyana transitioning to a cheaper and more sustainable natural gas reserve.

Additionally, the country continues to honour its commitment to facilitating a reduction in the use of fossil fuels, as agreed upon during the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP26). This goes hand in hand with the implementation of solar farms in hinterland regions in keeping with the goal to utilise and develop low-carbon energy resources to decrease emissions.

This is in keeping with the administration’s manifesto commitment to embrace renewable energy technologies and provide incentives for biomass-to-energy projects to reduce dependency on fossil fuels.