US official confirms initial approval of US$500M loan for GtE project

Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Brian Nichols, during a press briefing by the US Department of State on Monday, confirmed that the US Export-Import (EXIM) Bank has given approval for a US$500 million loan to support Guyana’s Gas-to-Energy (GtE) project.

“In November, the U.S. Export-Import Bank gave initial approval for a $500 million loan guarantee to support a $2 billion U.S.-built gas to energy project that represents the largest foreign investment in Guyana’s history,” he stated.

Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo had made the announcement a few weeks ago, however, the Alliance for Change (AFC) claimed that the information was untrue.

At the AFC press conference last Friday, a reporter asked David Patterson whether he wished to retract this claim and offer an apology. However, Patterson remained steadfast, asserting that the party’s position—that the loan had not been approved—was unchanged.

Back in April 2023, it was announced that Guyana had applied for the loan from the US EXIM Bank to finance the GtE Project, which includes construction of an Integrated Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) plant and a 300-megawatt (MW) combined cycle power plant at Wales, West Bank Demerara utilising natural gas from the country’s offshore operations in the Stabroek Block.

The US EXIM Bank’s approval comes on the heels of high-level due diligence done by the financial institution. The Guyana Government had stated that no fatal flaws were found during the technical and environmental assessments done by the bank.

While Guyana was awaiting the approval of this loan, Government had gone ahead and injected some US$400 million to commence work on the highly anticipated GtE project.