Although oil exploration and production remain the main focus for the petroleum sector, the Government of Guyana will be pursuing the option of utilizing the natural gas found in the Stabroek Block reservoirs as an alternative for power generation on-shore. This was noted today by Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat during his contributions to the 2020 budget debates.
The Minister said that the PPP/C administration recognizes that this would be a costly and highly technical initiative; hence it will be seeking the best advice from international experts. In fact, the Minister disclosed that a Gas to Power Working Group is underway to guide this process forward.
Wood Mackenzie, one of the leading firms on comprehensive petroleum data, has noted in a report seen by Guyana Standard that over 7.7 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of associated and non-associated gas has been discovered across the Stabroek block.
But with no ready infrastructure or gas market in Guyana, Wood Mackenzie said that any gas not used in-field for fuel purposes or flared will be re-injected. The consultancy group said that the gas re-injection can constitute an important enhanced-recovery mechanism but can have its limits. In this regard, it noted that full re-injection may result in gas recycling, increasing gas-to-oil ratio (GOR) with time. Ultimately, the company said that gas recycling will top the gas-processing capacity of the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO), consequently limiting oil production.
