September 4,2017
GPL is looking for a 50-megawatt (MW) power plant that aims at tapping the country’s natural gas future and ensuring sufficient generation in the coming decade.
In a full-page advertisement in yesterday’s Sunday Stabroek, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) is inviting expressions of interest (EoI) for a 50 MW dual fuel – Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) and Natural Gas – fired power plant in or around Georgetown, East Bank Demerara or East Coast Demerara.
It said that ExxonMobil’s affiliate, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) has uncovered commercial quantities of oil and gas in the Stabroek block, approximately 120 miles offshore. It says that EEPGL estimates that between 30 to 50 million cubic feet per day of natural gas can be made available for electricity generation in Guyana. Though ExxonMobil/EEGPL have referred to the gas find, early questions had been raised about the feasibility of piping this gas to the coast from such a far distance. The option of re-injecting the gas back into the well had also been floated.
GPL’s ad also pointed to the likely growth in future power demand as a reason for seeking the 50 MW plant. GPL said it is forecasting that Guyana’s electricity demand will more than double in the coming decade and existing plants will be decommissioned in the medium term. It said that the plant is targeted to be in operation by 2020.
