Private Sector has vital role in setting foundation for gas development in Guyana

Local private bodies are being called upon to play a greater role in efforts to create the enabling environment for investments in Guyana’s gas resources.

This call was made by the President of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), Alistair Routledge, during the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (GCCI) 2026 Energy Luncheon held on Thursday under the theme “Beyond the Barrel: Oil, Gas, Growth, and the Guyanese Contractor”.

The United States oil major has already laid a US$1 billion pipeline to bring natural gas from the Liza field offshore to the Gas-to-Energy (GtE) project site at Wales, West Bank Demerara, where a power plant and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility are being built.

The pipeline will start delivering gas later this year to generate power.

However, the Guyana Government is pursuing another massive gas development project in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) that would require a much larger pipeline. Routledge had previously said this second pipeline would cost approximately US$2 billion – double the cost of the existing infrastructure.
But the EMGL President noted on Thursday that before such a huge investment is made, the necessary foundation must be laid.

“The paths that we’re on, with the Government, to bring that gas to shore at Wales and Berbice is a huge opportunity to deliver more jobs, more investments onshore – more industries – and to diversify the economic development of the country. But it’s complicated because you have to tie that offshore development and production through a pipeline to onshore demand.”

“So, that is where we are. We’re trying to match up what some anchor gas purchases are, whether those are in data centres, aluminium melting, or more power generation for the country. We need some significant gas demand in order to make the foundational investments in the pipeline to bring the gas onshore and all the associated infrastructure that goes with it,” Routledge noted.

According to the ExxonMobil Guyana head, foreign investors will be looking for certain security before injecting their capital and expertise into the local market. These include certainty of gas supply, which industry to invest in, the investment terms, and who the potential partners are to work with in Guyana.
This, Routledge says, is where local bodies like GCCI, the Private Sector Commission (PSC), and even the Berbice business chambers must step up.

“[They] have a vital role to play. A vital role in helping those with capital and those with expertise to come into Guyana and deploy it wisely. Helping local businesses to be a part of it, the business associations and chambers are critical,” he posited.

Similarly, important in laying the foundation to attract foreign investment is a clear roadmap for the industry, and according to the EMGL President, Guyanese business leaders must also be involved in this process.

“There are a lot of discussions ongoing about where the development zone should be [in Berbice]… because until we can say, ‘Here is the land where everything will be built; here is where the deep-water port will be’, there is not a lot of belief externally that there is a roadmap for how this will happen.”
“We can call on the Government, and they clearly play a leading role, but we all have expertise and knowledge that should be part of and contribute to those decisions… So, I think a bigger discussion would be beneficial, but we do need to move quickly to bring clarity to what that location is,” the ExxonMobil Guyana boss emphasised.

Nevertheless, Routledge believes that there is massive potential and value to be had from developing Guyana’s gas resources – a view that Public Utilities and Aviation Minister Deodat Indar also shared while delivering the keynote address at the Chamber’s Energy Luncheon on Thursday.

Zoning in on gas development, the Minister called on businesses to study where the sector is heading, identify areas in which they can build expertise, and invest in the people, systems, and partnerships needed to compete. He cited opportunities expected to emerge from the Gas-to-Energy development, including gas utilisation, storage, transportation, and downstream industries.

According to Indar, Guyanese companies should begin building the technical knowledge and capacity needed to participate.

“If you don’t know about gas, you have to learn. You have to bring somebody who knows or find a partner who understands the business,” he said. “You have the C5+ [carbon five plus] gas, which are the aromatics and the pentanes that help to make gasoline. You have the isobutanes… that make deodorants that you spray. We haven’t even gone to that area as yet. We have refrigeration gas… fertilisers… so you have all of these things that you can do to monetise the gas.”

While the Guyana Government is yet to explore all the possible value-added products that come from gas, it has already moved ahead with plans to start bottling cooking gas, and proposals have already been received from companies interested in undertaking this.

But with the impending Berbice gas development expected to bring a larger volume of gas, Minister Indar contended that many opportunities will be available for locals.

“Berbice Development is a whole new ball game because that side will have more gas available for use on land… Just think about that: five times the amount of gas for use in Berbice. It tells you where gas is going… I don’t know if anybody in this room knows about installation and how to maintain the gas pipelines… but it is coming, and you have to have Private Sector people like yourself with partners to handle it,” he asserted.

Further drawing on the theme of Thursday’s luncheon, Indar went on to encourage local businesses to look beyond oil production and position themselves for the growing range of opportunities emerging across the wider economy, including areas such as logistics, transportation, warehousing, construction, certification, specialised technical services, training, and waste management, among others.