Dear Editor,
“Former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, on Wednesday released information he received in 2017 from ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), on the composition of the gas from the Liza operation.” Kaieteur News 2/9/21.
From the table provided, the amount of Natural Gas available for power generation would be 86.4 % (Methane 79.1% and Ethane 7.3%) and the Liquefied Petroleum Gas would be 10.5% (Propane 6.7%, Iso Butane 1%, and Natural Butane 2.8%). ExxonMobil has confirmed that they would be supplying 50 MMcfd of associated gas, it therefore means that the amount of LPG available would be 5.25 MMcfd (50 X 10.5%). Since 6 Mcf of natural gas is equivalent to 1 barrel of oil (BOE), then BOE of LPG available would be (5.25 MMcfd X 1,000 Mcfd / 6 Mcf) = 875 BOE LPG per day. The annual amount of LPG available would therefore be (875 X 365) = 319,375 barrels.
From the GEA 2019 Annual Report, Guyana’s total annual consumption of LPG was 242,878 barrels. If one were to subtract this number from the potential production of the Gas-to-Shore project, there would be a surplus of 76,497 barrels of LPG per year. However, it should be noted that the annual consumption of kerosene was 86,221 barrels. As we all know, kerosene is the fuel that the poor man uses for cooking in Guyana, so that if LPG was available at a cheaper price, then obviously they would switch.
Based on the above analysis, the Gas-to-Shore project would only be able to supply the bare minimum cooking gas requirements of Guyana. This begs the question, where is ExxonMobil getting the extra LPG to sell to third parties? Reference Stabroek News article By Laurel Sutherland July 9, 2021, ‘Serious questions raised on gas to shore project at scoping meeting – sales to be made to third parties.’ Editor, it is clear that there are more questions than answers about the Gas to Shore project and one wonders who are the experts that are advising the Government of Guyana. It is obvious that ExxonMobil is taking us for a ride, and we are the ones who are paying.
Sincerely,
Tara Singh