Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo recently emphasized that while the government is actively pursuing the monetization of its gas resources, it is cautious not to rely on any single approach.
Speaking at a press conference at Freedom House in Georgetown, Jagdeo addressed concerns about Fulcrum LNG, a one-year-old U.S.-based company that was selected as part of a tripartite arrangement with the Guyanese government and ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL). The arrangement aims to assess the feasibility of a gas monetization project and define its key elements.
“No, no, no, we are not worried as yet, at this stage because we’re still defining the project,” he noted.
Jagdeo underscored the government’s goal to monetize its gas resources, despite Exxon’s initial reluctance. Exxon had raised concerns about the associated gas from the wells, which would need to be reinjected to maintain the wells’ quality. “We argued that we believe that they can do so and yet find enough gas to generate a project—a major project that would result in an additional financial stream to the people of Guyana. We believe that to be so, largely because of the world accepting today that gas has to be the transitional fuel,” the Vice President added.
Moreover, Jagdeo explained that the government recognized its lack of technical expertise to execute such a project, so they embarked on a public tender and Fulcrum LNG was ultimately selected.
“Technical evaluators reviewed on the basis of the tender submitted and they scored Fulcrum ahead of others. Fulcrum argued that they had access to financing and secondly that there were several large companies associated with their proposal,” Jagdeo said.
Jagdeo pointed out that Fulcrum’s technical capability and financing will eventually be tested to execute the project if it is determined that gas monetization is feasible for Guyana. He noted that discussions are still ongoing regarding the project’s viability, including evaluating the availability of gas and other aspects.
Additionally, the Vice President indicated that the government has made its position clear that it is open to multiple configurations for the gas project, including using floating platforms for LNG export, bringing gas onshore for industrial purposes like fertilizer production, or generating power for export to Brazil, which has a significant energy demand.
He said ultimately, the project needs to be feasible before they can move forward. “It may very well end up that there is no project or it’s not feasible,” Jagdeo added. In that event, Jagdeo stated that the government is already in talks with neighboring Suriname, for possible collaboration on gas monetization.
“They have more gas in their gas fields that are close to our border. Maybe we do a joint project. But we’re not putting all our eggs in one basket,” Jagdeo assured.
