Already preoccupied with the fortune-changing impact which the country’s oil finds have had on transforming its developmental perspective, the country can anticipate further likely windfalls from its gas resources, according to an oilNow report published earlier this week. The prognosis that ‘talks up’ Guyana’s prospects for enhancing its energy returns through earnings from the gas sector derives from reports of dwindling gas production in Latin America, a development which the report says could be “an opportune time for Guyana” given the country’s “big reserves that is laser-focused on being a gas export hub for the Caribbean.“
The prognosis for a likely Guyana ‘look-in’ on the natural gas market in the hemisphere derives from what is, reportedly, a “new report” from the Scottish firm, Wood McKenzie, which possesses internationally recognized expertise in research-based analysis in the oil and gas sector. According to the report from the Scottish company, the fast-rising demand for natural gas supplies in the hemisphere could challenge Latin America’s capacity to provide adequate supplies over the next decade, a circumstance that is likely to drive the need for expanded natural gas imports into the region. Wood McKenzie is predicting that the demand for natural gas in the region could grow by an average of 1.4% per year, stabilizing at around 25 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) by 2035. Simultaneously, the supply of gas from the hemisphere, Wood Mckenzie says, is set to decline at a rate of 5.6% during the same period, resulting in a significant shortfall in supplies.
The prospects for a likely ‘look in’ on the hemisphere’s natural gas by Guyana are believed to hold some measure of promise given the Wood Mckenzie forecast “that supply will be unable to close the gap with increased demand.” While the study says that the likely natural gas shortfall could be potentially mitigated through “new gas developments or yet-to-find resources,” that option holds “significant challenges” that include infrastructure restrictions and unfavourable exploration incentives, circumstances that point to a likely steady increase of gas imports into the region.
With Wood Mackenzie asserting that Latin America possesses significant “contingent resources that can help alleviate the shortage of natural gas supply in the hemisphere Guyana’s resources could well come into the picture. Its planned gas-to-energy project is likely to utilize 50 million cubic feet of gas per day from the ExxonMobil Liza Field to meet its own energy needs. Guyana is reportedly aiming to produce in excess of 100 million cubic feet daily.
