Gas-to-Energy project: Double the amount of gas available – Exxon official

J. Hunter Farris, the Senior Vice President- Deep Water at ExxonMobil, on Tuesday, confirmed that additional associated gas resources exist in the prolific Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.

The additional resources, he said, can double the amount of gas supplied to the power plant under construction at the mega Gas-to-Energy project at Wales, West Bank Demerara, and possibly even help fire a second power plant.

“Today, we can confirm that we identified additional associated gas resources that can fill the new 225-kilometre Gas-to-Energy pipeline, more than doubling the amount of gas available for Guyana’s domestic use from an already completed pipeline,” he said during his presentation at the Guyana Energy Conference.

That means about 120 million cubic feet per day (mcf/d) of gas can be supplied, Farris added. Currently, it is expected that about 50 mcf/d will be supplied to the project at Wales.

A 300-megawatt (MW) power plant is being constructed in Wales; it will use natural gas from the Stabroek Block to generate cleaner, cheaper electricity. Additionally, a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) processing plant will treat the gas, removing liquids such as propane and butane for commercialisation.

Farris posited that the additional gas supply can provide additional grid stability, drive diversification and help attract different sources of investments.

Meanwhile, ExxonMobil is still appraising more gas resources offshore Guyana, particularly in the southeast portion of the Stabroek Block. This appraisal programme, Farris said, cost about US$1.5 billion.

At a recent press conference, ExxonMobil Guyana Limited President Alistair Routledge said there is also much optimism about the natural gas reserves at Longtail (which is found in the south-east portion of the Block). It is estimated that the development could produce about one billion cubic feet per day of natural gas.