As a result of not having shore bases to service the booming oil industry before 2017, Guyana has had to rely on Trinidad and Tobago’s infrastructure. But doing had the nation approximately US$2M a day. This was revealed by Shadow Minister of the Petroleum Sector, David Patterson during the 28th sitting of the National Assembly yesterday.
He was at the time, speaking on the importance of his motion to have a special land policy for shore bases. That motion was eventually voted down by the government which believed it to be a visionless document and another attempt at “sanctimonious gangsterism.”
During his presentation, Patterson noted that the APNU+AFC had seen it as a matter of high priority to move quickly towards Guyana having its shore bases following the discovery of oil in 2015. He said was due to the losses to the nation suffered by having to pay Trinidad and Tobago for those services. He noted it was no problem for ExxonMobil to expend US$2M a day on two Trinidadian shore bases since Guyana was ultimately paying for it via cost recovery from the Liza Phase One operations.
Patterson said, “When ExxonMobil found oil in May 2015, the decision by the coalition administration to support the objective of achieving first oil and the provision of shore bases became a high priority…Since Guyana had no bases in 2016, the nearest ones in Galeota and Chaguaramas in Trinidad and Tobago, some 250 miles from the Liza One operations, were being used. Each base would cost Guyanese over US$1M a day.”
The former Public Works Minister added, “Of course it did not affect Exxon because of cost recovery and there was no incentive by oil producers to move from shore bases in Trinidad but we as a government in 2016 decided this is something that should be addressed.”
Patterson said the coalition administration eventually permitted ExxonMobil to look wherever possible for locations for shore bases in or outside of Georgetown.
“The idea was that even if we can’t do 100 percent of the services, we can do a minimum of half in-country and increase savings,” the former Minister added.
By September 2017, Exxon said it started awarding shore base contracts to Muneshwers which is a part-owner in the Guyana Shore Base Inc. at Houston.
Patterson noted that GYSBI quickly became overwhelmed with the contracts it was awarded and Trinidad and Tobago still ended up receiving most of the work to service operations in the Guyana basin.
The government of Guyana is currently working with several Guyanese entrepreneurs to have shore bases established here to reduce the losses to its CARICOM sister.
