Potential sites for oil and gas industry’s onshore base identified

The Ministry of Public Infrastructure has identified several possible locations along the Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo Rivers for the proposed oil and gas industry onshore support base.

The top two ranked sites were identified following the completion of a screening evaluation of sites and the ministry will be presenting its report to the cabinet’s oil and gas sub-committee shortly.

The committee, which focuses on matters concerning Guyana’s fledgling oil and gas industry, comprises the Ministries of Natural Resources, Public Infrastructure, Business and Finance.

The Public Infrastructure Ministry will recommend that extensive studies be conducted on the top ranked locations before a final decision is made. Due to the restrictive time frame, it is expected that a final recommendation will be made shortly.

The ideal onshore base location will have the general characteristics such as access for ocean going vessels and favorable ocean conditions, good transportation links with easy road access to Georgetown, its facilities, amenities and the international airports at Timehri and Ogle, among other requirements.

The Government of Guyana is proposing, in association with the private sector, to construct an onshore base and associated infrastructure in order to support and serve the fledging offshore oil and gas sector.

The recent world class offshore oil discovery by ExxonMobil has firmly launched Guyana’s hydrocarbon industry.

Guyana’s potential rests on the discovery of the Liza-1 and Liza-2 wells, located approximately 120 miles off our shores in 5,500 feet of water.