Chief Executive Officer of Source One Supply Oil and Gas Marine Supplies Terry Singh, who is proposing to build an onshore oil and gas facility at Vreed-en-Hoop, says he is still waiting on the government’s approval of the project.
Speaking to Sunday Stabroek last week, Singh explained that the company, which is a subsidiary of Japarts, has plans to facilitate the construction of the facility near to the Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara stelling to serve the imminent oil and gas industry. He pointed out that the construction is estimated at US$120 million, for which he is hoping to form a consortium with other international companies.
“We can’t build this alone but we can form a consortium where we have 49% of shares being owned by overseas companies and let them build it. So far, we have 18 companies that have shown a lot of interest, big companies,” Singh said, while pointing out that major companies such as TechnipFMC, the company that is currently contracted to supply ExxonMobil with all of its subsea equipment, and UK-company Piers Mudd, have expressed their interest.
While the company has received “very good” feedback from other international companies and even the private sector here, Singh noted that the government’s response to the project has been positive but not tangible since it sent the proposal in August last year.
“We need the government’s intervention to issue the land to start. We sent the proposal [for] the area since last year August and we have been meeting and discussing,” Singh noted.
He noted that within the last month, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman has shown interest but the company has still not received any definite word from the government.
“The feedback from all the different agencies is that it’s a good proposal but we have not seen any forward steps,” he added.
He also noted that the company has had conversations with the ExxonMobil about the project but “Exxon cannot tell us to build.” However, he said, once it is given the go ahead to start the project, the facility will be built to “ExxonMobil’s standards” and will rival similar facilities around the world.
Bringing value
According to the company’s website, the shore base facility will make provisions for, among other things, port facilities, a fuel farm, a warehouse packaging facility, a mudplant facility, a cement plant, a helipad facility, drill pipes repair and storage facility, waste management service, a fabrication and welding workshop, and supply vessel and crane services.
Singh noted that supplies will be garnered from suppliers around the country, which will be stored and distributed at the center.
“Nobody on Regent Street will be able to supply Exxon[Mobil] regardless of how big businessmen they are. They can’t. But a facility of this kind can. You have nearly 100 vessels coming and going for products daily along with the incoming FPSO [Floating Production, Storage and Offloading Vessel]. There will be vessels coming along side it, collecting the oil to carry to different parts of the world on a schedule. But when a ship is traveling so long, they will need supplies, such as fuel, waste management, food, parts, oil, battery, medicine. They will need rope, cables, you name it. Everything on land they will need,” he said.
As a result, he said the warehouse will have an inventory and management distribution centre, where they will source goods and other products from local suppliers around the city and country at a competitive rate. They will charge an additional 10% fee through the base and any incoming vessel can order the supplies and have it available for pick up when they are ready.
“So a ship that is coming will send an email and the relevant people will have the water they need ready or whatever they want. One of the vessels will pick up the product and go out to the vessel to service and it’s done,” Singh noted.
The aim of the project is to develop a venture that is intended to bring value to the operators in the emerging oil and gas sector, in addition to Guyanese themselves. If given the go ahead, Singh said that they can complete the project in 26 months.
“Essentially, we intend on effectively converting 2.4 million square feet into a showcase for what can be done through inclusion, local and transnational partnership. Our research has demonstrated that Source One will have an immediate impact on the local economy,” he said, while pointing out that they will create some 400 jobs directly and about 1,000 indirectly, along with “adding long term value to the nation’s GDP.”
Singh said that if a facility of the sort isn’t built there, then the citizens of the country are less likely to benefit from the emerging oil and gas sector.
“Guyanese have a lot of potential and all we need is the opportunity and the blessings of the government to push the project forward. We have a lot of people here who are skilled and where they aren’t we will get trained higher technical people and bring them here to work than to have them do it somewhere else,” he added.
