By Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News |
NEW YORK / GEORGETOWN — The Export-Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM Bank) has expressed readiness to provide up to US$550 million in direct debt financing to support Phase Two of Guyana’s flagship Gas-to-Energy (GTE) development at Wales, West Bank Demerara.
The major financing commitment was announced on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, following bilateral discussions between Guyanese President Dr. Irfaan Ali and US EXIM Bank Chairman and President John Jovanovic.
The prospective loan facility arrives as national electricity demand surges to historic peaks, while the initial phase of the industrial complex continues to navigate extended timelines, cost escalations, and technical delivery revisions.
Deepening Bilateral Ties: Commitments from New York
Speaking following the high-level engagement, President Ali confirmed that the official export credit agency of the United States government has signaled full backing for the project’s secondary expansion:
- Executive Endorsement: President Ali affirmed that US EXIM Bank has demonstrated unwavering support for Guyana’s long-term energy transition and industrial diversification agenda.
- Broader Capital Horizon: Beyond the energy sector, Chairman Jovanovic signaled that US EXIM Bank is actively exploring strategic debt financing partnerships across other major national infrastructure initiatives, including national housing developments and the planned deepwater port in Berbice.
“We are committed to have GTE 2 financed, with EXIM committing to be a part of that,” President Ali stated. “There are some important transformative projects for us at home, and the US EXIM today has once again demonstrated its full commitment to this transformative agenda and being part of some of our historic projects ahead of us.”
Reiterating Washington’s long-term commercial partnership with Georgetown, US EXIM Bank Chairman John Jovanovic underscored the priority placed on executing both segments of the Wales project.
“We are deeply committed to ensuring that GTE One is completed and that GTE Two is brought to life,” Jovanovic emphasized.
Technical Architecture of Phase Two: 5,800 BPD NGL Plant
According to official procurement and tender documentation released by the Office of the Prime Minister, Phase Two is engineered to double industrial throughput and monetize additional gas brought ashore from offshore oil fields:
- Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) Output: The secondary plant is designed to extract and process approximately 5,800 barrels per day (bpd) of commercial NGL byproducts—principally propane, butane, and pentanes-plus (C5+).
- Rich Gas Feedstock: The facility will utilize 70 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of rich natural gas, which the government is set to receive from ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) via the offshore-to-onshore pipeline network.
- Spatial Siting: Phase Two will occupy an allocation of no more than 100 acres of land, situated immediately adjacent to the existing 300 MW integrated plant footprint at the Wales Industrial Development Zone.
- Private Finance Architecture: Unlike Phase One’s direct state-contracted model, Phase Two will be structured under a 100 percent private sector project finance model. Under a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) framework, private investors will design, construct, and operate the facility, recovering their capital via a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) alongside commercial NGL sales, after which full ownership reverts to the state at zero cost.
Grid Strains and Phase One Timeline Pressures
The multi-million-dollar pledge comes as state power planners work against the clock to address severe grid instability and load shedding across the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS):
- The Original Timeline: Phase One—comprising the 300 MW combined-cycle plant and base NGL facility awarded to the CH4-Lindsayca consortium in December 2022—was originally budgeted at US$759 million and scheduled for commercial operation by late 2024.
- Staggered Commissioning: The overall delivery schedule has since encountered a two-year extension. Under current revised commissioning milestones, an initial simple-cycle tranche of approximately 57 MW is anticipated to be synchronized to the national grid before the close of 2026, with full combined-cycle capacity pushed into subsequent delivery cycles.
- Existing US EXIM Exposure: The new US$550 million lending commitment comes on top of the US$527 million loan previously approved by the US EXIM Bank Board of Directors to finance equipment and construction works for Phase One.
As independent regulatory reviews and parliamentary scrutiny of the project continue, the formalization of the Phase Two financing window positions US commercial suppliers and American engineering standards at the core of Guyana’s expanding energy grid.
