GEORGETOWN: Excess natural gas could be sold to India

GEORGETOWN: India remains interested in entering into a long-term
procurement deal with Guyana to purchase Guyana’s share of its oil extracted
but Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa, also noted that
India may buy natural gas from Guyana if it has excess supply.

Previously, the High Commissioner noted that the Government of India is
willing to purchase Guyana’s share of oil lifts at the market value, annually
and on a long-term basis, through a Government to Government agreement since
the country is a mass importer of oil.

The High Commissioner had noted that Indian companies such as Hindustan
Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Bharrat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) – all State-owned companies – would be
interested in buying crude from Guyana in the future.

During an interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Tuesday, the High
Commissioner noted that the two countries are still negotiating that
procurement deal. In another section of the local media, Minister of Natural
Resources, Vickram Bharrat, recently confirmed that the Indian Government is
currently in talks with Guyana for the purchase of crude for short-term oil
contracts in order to offset its earlier high priced long-term contracts
entered into. While that request was made, the minister noted that a decision
is still to be taken.

India has also signalled its willingness to help Guyana develop its
gas-to-shore project, once that project is finalised. The High Commissioner
noted that assistance can be provided to use the gas for the energy purposes,
use it as fertilisers or to bottle the gas as Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Importantly, Dr. Srinivasa highlighted: “If you want to set up a processing
plant here, we will help you set that up… but if they have excess gas to
market, yes, of course we will talk to them once we know what is the quantity
and what is going to happen because we don’t know anything right now.”

LARGE DEMAND

He, subsequently, highlighted that India also has a large demand for gas
which has resulted in it entering into large contracts with several countries.
Once Guyana has excess natural gas to market, he assured that the Indian
Government would consider purchasing from Guyana.

A special task force established by President Irfaan Ali to assess the
feasibility of a gas-to-energy project has since determined that close to 2,000
acres of land would be needed to construct a power generation facility.

Part of the plan by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government
is to reduce the cost of energy by 50 per cent through an energy mix, which
includes the conversion of natural gas from ExxonMobil’s offshore operations to
electricity. Though environmental assessments are needed, the gas-to-shore
project seems to be more feasible in the community of Wales on the West Bank of
Demerara.

Beyond purchasing the oil and gas being produced in Guyana’s Stabroek block,
the High Commissioner noted that India has a keen interest in helping to
develop Guyana’s technical capacity for its burgeoning oil and gas industry. As
such, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to fund the training and
capacity-building of Guyanese has been proposed to the Natural Resources
Ministry. Under this MoU, Guyanese will travel to India for training with the
local oil and gas corporations there.

“We will be very proud to join Guyana in its development journey and also
share our expertise with Guyana because we understand that Guyana needs a lot
of skills and capacity building in that sector,” Dr Srinivasa highlighted.

“An educated and highly-skilled workforce is critical to our competitiveness
as a destination for investment, but also critical in ensuring that the
Guyanese people are able to get jobs,” Senior Minister with responsibility for
Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, emphasised in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle
in December