Guyana’s Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo disclosed on Thursday that a feasibility study would have to be done to determine if it is more cost effective to pipe some of Guyana’s gas resources to Trinidad and Tobago located hundreds of miles away for processing, or utilize a floating platform for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) off Guyana’s coast.
He made the comment in response to remarks by Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton. During a press conference on Thursday, Norton had accused the PPP/C Government of ignoring the call by Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Keith Rowley for there to be greater collaboration among regional partners on oil and gas development.
Dr. Rowley had made this call during his participation at the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo which was held at the Marriott Hotel from February 19 to 22. Trinidad & Tobago’s Energy Minister, Stuart Young had also expounded on the need for collaboration as he said Guyana could utilize Trinidad’s existing infrastructure and expertise to process its gas resources. Young had assured that the benefits would be immediate for Guyana if it were to go this route.
During his press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo said it is indeed a fact that authorities here are intent on aggressively monetizing its gas resources. He said it is for this reason the government is seeking an experienced partner to work alongside ExxonMobil to push the development of the resources in the Stabroek Block.
“We are now in the process of selecting a core investor to work with Exxon on this project to push them even faster on monetizing the gas because the world has now accepted gas is a transitional fuel,” said Jagdeo.
Where Trinidad is concerned, he said government is aware that the CARICOM nation is hunting for proven resources, given that its own gas reserve is dwindling.
The Vice President said it is the government’s intention to examine all options carefully, including the possibility of moving gas to Trinidad versus processing it in Guyana for industrialization purposes and possibly on a floating platform for LNG.