With both countries having only just burst onto the global scene as world class oil and gas producers, Guyana and Suriname have again been attracting global attention, following sector predictions that the two countries, together, could become strategically significant global suppliers of natural gas by 2030. A November 4 Reuters report says that between them, Guyana and Suriname could, in just over five years, supply consumers with 12 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas “in the 2030s”, at a competitive price, a projection which should it prove accurate, could mark an astonishing turnaround in both the financial fortunes and global recognition by two countries regarded not many moons ago as being among the hemisphere’s most pronounced underachievers.
The readiness of Guyana and Suriname to commence supplying liquid natural gas to international consumers is projected to coincide with a spike in demand for the commodity as major companies move to effect a change from coal and gas which, were this to be realized, could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as half, based on predictions that have been made by environmental scientists. The disclosure regarding the opening up of room in the natural gas market for Guyana and Suriname reportedly allows the two hitherto economically impoverished countries to anticipate further billions of dollars in new more lucrative projects.
Between them, Suriname’s offshore Block 52 and Guyana’s offshore Haimara cluster are estimated to hold 13 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas. The opening up of new gas opportunities for Guyana and Suriname could reportedly provide new gas supplies at a time when the global market reportedly needs approximately 105 million metric tonnes per annum of LNG to fill the gap between supply and demand by 2035. The potential opening for Guyana and Suriname on the global natural gas market comes at a time when the global market is dominated by the United States and Qatar, according to the Reuters report, though the report asserts that a supply window could open in the mid-2030s.