The early work on the gas-to-energy plant project in Wales, West Bank Demerara, has pleased ExxonMobil Guyana, and the company is confident that the project will be completed on schedule.
The early work undertaken on-site and in the surrounding communities has met his personal satisfaction, according to ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge. He called it really good progress recently.
When asked about details, he claimed that Exxon’s contractor had already cleared and prepped about 100 acres of land. The integrated plant, which will be built on this land, will collect gas from offshore. It will separate cooking gas from methane, which will then be delivered to a power plant to generate electricity.
According to Routledge, the company contracted to design as well as build the integrated facility has also begun laying special drainage infrastructure. This is in preparation for civil works.
In order to provide good access to the plant, the company also committed funds to early work to strengthen bridges and improve roads.
The port facility, which Gaico Construction Inc. built to help the project, would soon be handed over to the government. Routledge referred to it as a material offloading facility.
According to Routledge, they made great progress in their early works.
The Liza Phase One and Liza Phase Two FPSO (floating, production, storage, and offloading) vessels will use a 12-inch pipeline. This pipeline will carry natural gas to the power plant and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility in Wales. The pipeline will run approximately 200 kilometres offshore.
Gas-to-energy plant project completion dates
According to Routledge, the project is expected to be completed in 2024. Contractors have already started laying pipes both onshore and offshore in shallow waters.
An offshore natural gas power plant that produces 250–300 megawatts of energy is the main feature of the gas-to-shore initiative. It is expected to substantially lower Guyana’s electricity costs.
With the NGL facility anticipated to be operational by 2025, the aim is to provide rich gas to the power plant. This is planned to be accomplished by the end of 2024.
Over the course of its 25-year lifespan, the gas-to-shore project is anticipated to provide jobs for up to 800 individuals during its peak construction phase. It will also facilitate the operations of approximately 40 full-time workers and the decommissioning of an additional 50 workers.
