Dr. Rowley: Guyana gas could be ‘Plan B’ for Trinidad

Former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister (PM) Dr. Keith Rowley has left the door open for strong partnerships with Guyana’s upcoming gas industry, provided the two nations can reach an “economically sound” agreement on the commodity.
Dr. Rowley shared these views during his final interview as Head of State with reporters from his country last week.
Recognising Guyana’s lucrative gas reserves, he suggested the upcoming resource as a “Plan B” to address Trinidad and Tobago’s energy needs, particularly if its Dragon gas deal—intended to pipe gas from Venezuela—were to fall through due to US sanctions. The US has tightened restrictions on the Bolivarian Republic.
Dr. Rowley told reporters that Trinidad and Tobago is already in discussions with Guyana, as well as its Dutch neighbour Suriname, to access their gas supplies.
“The Guyanese and the Surinamese have confirmed supply, they are building up their reserves, and they are looking for a market. We have approached them, and we have made arrangements where, once it is economically viable and we can reach an agreement, sometime in the future, they could look in our direction,” Dr. Rowley stated.
Guyana is advancing its Wales Gas-to-Energy project, which is expected to significantly reduce electricity costs in the country.
Despite minor delays, the Government of Guyana and its partners remain committed to delivering the project in a timely manner.
Guyana’s main partner, ExxonMobil, is aiming to develop more than 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day once the Longtail project—the largest gas field in the Stabroek Block—comes on stream.
In the meantime, Guyana plans to bring natural gas onshore from the Liza oil field to power the Wales 300 MW power plant and an NGL separation plant.
ExxonMobil’s President, Alistair Routledge, stated at the recent Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo that appraisal work has confirmed Guyana holds significant gas reserves—more than 17 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Routledge added that Guyana’s next challenge is to produce and market its gas, which is a more complex endeavour than oil development. He noted that since Guyana does not yet have an established gas market, work must be done to develop this sector.