Page 9 - LatAmOil Week 45 2021

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The other countries also have current or poten- “Last week’s flurry of announcements created
tial oil and gas reserves and are taking the lead a lot of headlines, but initiatives like the Beyond
in promising to keep the hydrocarbons in the Oil and Gas Alliance show what real climate
ground. leadership looks like. If we want to keep global
The body features countries that have com- heating below 1.5 degrees, a managed decline of
mitted to ending oil and gas production by a fossil fuel production is the only way. This alli-
certain date. Governments and sub-national ance is a great first step to start that process,” said
governments can also support the movement May Boeve, executive director of 350.org
without setting an end-date for oil and gas. The group’s aims follow the conclusions of
Jorgensen said the group hopes to unveil new the International Energy Agency (IAE), which
members in the coming day, and will be able to said recently that there can be no new invest-
start a major conversation on ending oil and gas ment in new fossil fuel production projects if the
and to develop new strategies to pursue a just world is to meet the 1.5-degree target.
energy transition. To achieve this, the world must achieve net
BOGA also aims to increase the political zero by 2050, a goal that is “narrow but still
pressure on oil and gas producing countries to achievable,” the IEA said. To reach this target,
work towards aligning their energy strategies no further upstream projects are needed beyond
with the Paris Agreement goals. those already approved. ™

GUYANA
Guyana talks about using gas to generate

electricity and unveils clean energy plan

GUYANA is planning to build a new associ-
ated gas-fuelled thermal power plant (TPP)
as it moves toward leaving fossil fuels behind,
President Irfaan Ali said while unveiling a new
clean energy initiative ahead of the UN’s COP26
climate conference.
According to Ali, the gas-to-power (GTP)
project will help the country meet domestic
power demand, which is predicted to grow
sharply in the coming years. “Cheaper electric-
ity will be supplied, and that supply can increase
five-fold with emissions staying essentially flat,”
he was quoted as saying by Reuters last week.
The president went on to say that Guyana’s
transmission and distribution lines would also
be upgraded. The country must take this step
because demand on the main domestic power Gas from ExxonMobil’s Stabroek block will fuel a power plant (Image: ExxonMobil)
grid is expected to rise from 126 MW in 2020 to
415 MW in 2025, he said. than 10bn barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in
Guyana’s main power grid supplies 78% of recoverable resources at the Stabroek block.
domestic energy requirements, Reuters noted. The US super-major operates the licence
Over the next five years, Guyanese power area through a consortium formed with the
demand is forecasted to triple, largely as a con- US-based independent Hess Corp and China
sequence of economic growth driven by off- National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC).
shore oil exploration and production. Guyana Guyana currently depends on imports for
has long been one of Latin America’s poorest almost all of the fuel it consumes, or around 97%
countries, but its fortunes have improved since of the total. According to the government’s new
it became an oil producer in December 2019. clean energy plan, though, this will change once
At that time, ExxonMobil (US) brought the the new gas-fired TPP becomes operational and
Liza-1 field at the Stabroek offshore block on as new hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) are
stream. Liza-1 is still the country’s only produc- built. The plan projects that these new facilities
ing site, but it will be joined by the Liza-2 field will able to meet the power needs of people liv-
early next year. ing along the coast, the country’s most popu-
To date, ExxonMobil has discovered more lated area.

Week 45 11•November•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9