The Private Sector Commission (PSC) has thrown its support behind the proposed Wales gas to shore project as the organisation believes that the benefits to this country will far outweigh any counter arguments.
“You have a less populated area, from a safety perspective. From a revitalization of the economy perspective, you had a sugar estate that was closed down so you have the labour pool. From a general perspective, we are positive on anything that brings down the energy costs,” Chairman of the PSC, Nicholas Boyer told the Sunday Stabroek on Thursday when contacted.
Boyer further explained that being a member of the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) Board, he was privy to a study and recommendation by the past APNU+AFC government which had proposed the Ogle, East Coast of Demerara area as the site for landing of the gas pipes. He said that he was shocked that such a recommendation was made as he could not fathom anyone agreeing to have such infrastructure near to residential communities.
“We support anything that reduces energy costs in Guyana, having the knowledge that I have, I think it (Wales) is a better location because you have a number of factors and these main perspectives; safety and environment, revitalization of (the) Wales economy and the fact that the project itself would bring down the power costs ,” he stressed.
“I am at GPL’s board and I saw the first location proposed and they had the pipeline having to cross populated areas, very close to some houses … can you imagine a pipeline crossing through communities? If that pipeline was to burst, you can just imagine…,” he added.
His personal view also is that once all the environmental and cost-benefit analyses have been worked out favourably, the project should forge ahead.
Boyer said that Guyana’s manufacturing sector stands to benefit significantly as with reduced energy costs it will be more competitive in the region.
“What happens is, as the cost for power goes down our manufacturing costs gets cheaper. So the market available to them not only becomes the domestic market but the regional and in some cases it will be the international market. For me, I think it is an all-around positive,” he reasoned.
Boyer said that he can speak with certainty because he is privy to information not known to many in the public and other organizations. “Being the Chairman of the Private Sector Commission… I think this is a much better location,” he said.
Through Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, the government last week announced that the proposed site for the project, which President Irfaan Ali expects to be completed by 2023, would be the former Wales, West Bank Demerara estate.
Settled
“We have now settled on the location which is Wales Estate,” Jagdeo had told Stabroek News as he explained that “the critical decisions regarding the geotechnical, geophysical and the environmental studies, that will advance the project, have been made.”
The studies and opinions underpinning the selection of Wales for the project have not been released by the PPP/C government.
Landing the gas project at Wales would also enable the rejuvenation of a community hard-hit by the closure of the sugar estate. The former APNU+AFC government was unable to provide alternatives after shuttering the estate at the end of 2016 and the new PPP/C government had floated the prospect of a development authority but without fleshing out the idea.
The Gas to Shore Project Advisory Committee, which is led by former Chief Executive Officer of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), Winston Brassington, and comprises other technical experts, analyzed all options and past studies before advising on the choice.
The PPP/C had campaigned on reducing electricity costs and pledged to “hit the ground running to reduce power costs with natural gas.”
Shortly after being sworn in and as he announced plans for the oil and gas sector, Vice President Jagdeo reiterated the party’s position. He had also stated that his government has gathered that ExxonMobil was moving rapidly on the gas project but that the past APNU+AFC government had “put… roadblocks in this regard.”
“We have a couple of studies we are going through. We cannot look at what they didn’t do. We have to get it done and we want this done urgently. We have to be guided by the best technical minds but we want this project on the road as early as possible. In that engagement, we will have to get the cost that is very different than is in the [2016] contract. The contract locks in a price for the first 300 to 400 megawatts of power. We need the electricity to generate [power for] this country and fulfill the promise that we will cut their electricity bill. This is a project of high priority, we want to engage with Exxon… ExxonMobil is eager to move along and from what I gather is, they have been waiting for government to show interest,” Jagdeo had said.
But he added that environmental issues for all projects of the US oil major must be harnessed and government will “ensure that we have a commitment from ExxonMobil, because all of these issues are interlinked, a commitment that there will be adequate provisions for any environmental disaster, in the contract and by Exxon. We have to satisfy ourselves that that is so. Flaring [from oil extraction] is a key issue and we have to deal with that. We have already signalled that we don’t want flaring. We don’t want flaring.”
Former President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, businessman Clinton Urling has said that the project has transformational potential but that he believes that the current government should release the studies or information that helped it form its decision.
“The upside of the gas to shore project has transformational potential, for both our public/private enterprises and our citizenry, and is one that should be pursued despite premature and nonsensical grumblings from so called `experts’”, he wrote in a letter to this newspaper to reject that view that it would bankrupt the country.
He wrote again to urge government to release the documents of its findings for the public’s analysis.
“Since that revelation, many commentaries have appeared concerning the feasibility of the gas-to-shore project and most recently criticisms on the suitability of the proposed location. Since the Vice President enumerated that all the relevant studies have been conducted at arriving at the location, it would be prudent for the government to publicly release those assessments so as to calm any fears members … the populace might have on this important and costly project,” Urling stated.
