Vice President of Guyana, Hon. Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo in a recent press conference, indicated that the Guyanese government is willing to explore the feasibility of exporting natural gas to Trinidad and Tobago for processing.
Jagdeo said the government is currently considering at least three other options to monetize its gas resources, but processing in Trinidad could be another alternative which should be explored.
Guyana’s crude oil production has skyrocketed since production began in 2019. The Liza discovery was made by Exxon in 2015 and since then has made over 30 discoveries in the Stabroek block. These discoveries have led to six offshore developments and Guyana is poised to produce over one million barrels of oil per day in the coming years, as more projects come online.
Despite producing substantial volumes of associated gas, Guyana has yet to commercialize its natural gas. At present, gas from the offshore fields is reinjected into reservoirs or used to fuel floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels.
That is set to change with the government’s Gas-to-Energy project, expected to come online in 2026. Under the initiative, 50 mscf/d of gas from the Liza field will be transported via pipeline to shore, for power generation, marking Guyana’s first domestic use of its gas resources. With this gas, a 300-megawatt (MW) combined cycle power plant and a natural gas liquids (NGL) facility with a capacity to produce about 5,800 barrels per day (b/d) is under construction.
As more gas is unlocked through other offshore projects like Hammerhead and Longtail and volumes increase, the government expects to unlock new opportunities for industrialization, including petrochemicals and other gas-based industries.
Jagdeo said that there are four options for Guyana’s natural gas:
Bring gas to shore to produce power and supply to Brazil
Bring gas to shore for industrial purposes example develop a fertilizer or petrochemical industry
Develop LNG for export offshore.
The fourth option is to export the gas to Trinidad for processing. Jagdeo said that this is an option that must be studied.
He noted that the gas development is not being funded by the Government of Guyana. As such, he said the private investors would have to determine which is most the feasible option.
He said “We have, through a public process identified a company to work with Exxon and the government of Guyana to monetize the gas. If they choose to take this gas to Trinidad to be processed, and that offers the greatest return to the project.”
In Trinidad, gas production has fallen to about 2.5 bcf/d leaving substantial spare capacity which can be closed if another source of gas opens up within the region. Guyana is one potential source.
In the past Exxon’s Country Manager, Alistair Routledge said the distance between Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the route it must take through Venezuela’s territorial waters, are two major obstacles hindering the construction of a natural gas pipeline to export gas from Guyana to T&T.