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The project envisions the construction of a pipe- line to pump associated gas from offshore oil- fields to a new gas-fired TPP that will produce power for the domestic market – and perhaps, eventually, for neighbouring countries also.
As Ali noted, gas still has a higher energy density than solar power with current technolo- gies. So while solar power is important, he said, solar parks are still unable to generate the same amountofenergyatthesamecostasgas.
The president also noted the feasibility of incorporating gas in energy generation, given the massive reserves held by Caribbean and Latin American nations. Suriname leads the way with 28 trillion cubic feet (793bn cubic metres)
of gas reserves, while Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago have 12 trillion cubic feet (340 bcm) and 11 trillion cubic feet (312 bcm) respectively.
Ali went on to say that the involvement of Brazil, as Guyana’s neighbour, in the develop- ment of an energy corridor would be vital if the country was to make a successful transition to a gas-based economy. “They are too important and too big of a population and market to not be partofthatequation,”heremarked.
Currently, the Caribbean region has some of the highest electricity prices in the world. Once the GTE project is completed, though, Guy- ana expects to see its fuel import costs drop by $11mn per month. ™
ARGENTINA
Energy minister’s replacement may be a sign that Argentina will cut gas subsidies
ARGENTINA’S government appears to be moving closer to making a decision on scaling back domestic subsidies for natural gas and electricity following a reshuffle at the Energy Secretariat.
Personnel changes began in earnest earlier this month when Sergio Massa was appointed to fill the position of economy minister, replac- ing Martin Guzman, who stepped down in July. On August 7, just four days after taking office, Massa announced in a Twitter post that he had relieved Energy Minister Dario Martinez of his post and replaced him with Flavia Royon. He also named Federico Bernal, Cecilia Garibotti and Santiago Yanotti as Royon’s undersecre- taries for hydrocarbons, planning and electric energy respectively.
Royon has been serving as the secretary of mining and energy for the government of Salta province, while Bernal is the director general of Energy, Technology and Infrastructure for Development Watch (OETEC), an Argentin- ian energy think tank. Garibotti is a legal expert who specialises in technology, and Yanotti is the vice president of CAMMESA, the company that operates Argentina’s wholesale electricity market.
Martinez, for his part, confirmed his resig- nation in a separate Twitter post and offered his best wishes to Royon and her new team.
The personnel shakeup serves not only to remove Martinez and his team but to reduce the influence of Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner over energy policy. Kirchner and her allies had been strong proponents of the gas and power subsidies, which cost Argentina’s government some $11bn last year. However, the
Martinez (L), Massa (C) and Royon (R), shown during a meeting at the Energy Secretariat on August 8 (Image: Twitter/@SergioMassa)
government pledged earlier this year to reduce these supports as part of a deficit-cutting agree- ment with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
This policy shift is likely to prove unpopular, as consumers in Argentina have grown accus- tomed to the long-standing policy of subsidies. Massa has argued, however, that Buenos Aires must take a different approach to energy policy.
“Our goal must be energy sovereignty and the transformation of Argentina as a power in this sector,” Bloomberg quoted him as saying.
Massa’s remarks appear to be a reference to the fact that the South American state has remained dependent on oil and gas imports despite its own sizeable reserves. Argentina has often had difficulty attracting enough foreign investment to support large-scale and rapid development of its domestic resources because of foreign companies’ concerns about its fiscal stability. ™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 32 10•August•2022