Managing Director of Bounty Farm Limited, David Fernandes, has praised the government’s Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project, which will be a major boost to industrialisation by utilising the gas from the offshore Stabroek Block oilfields to convert and supply cheaper electricity to the local grid.
During a recent appearance on the Starting Point Podcast, Fernandes highlighted that the project will significantly reduce electricity costs for individuals and businesses, including his own, by about 50 per cent once it becomes operational next year. Using a 12-inch pipeline, the natural gas from the Stabroek Block will be brought onshore to fuel a 300-megawatt (MW) combined-cycle gas turbine power plant and an integrated Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility located at Wales Industrial Estate, West Bank Demerara.
Fernandes outlined that every business is affected by key benchmarks such as interest rates, corporate taxes, logistics, shipping, fuel, electricity, labour, and input costs like fertilizers. He stated that while the GTE project will boost industrialisation, the government’s plan to establish a deepwater harbour is equally vital to make Guyana truly competitive.
Fernandes noted that the GTE project will create opportunities for local fertilizer production, which could be a major win for the agriculture sector, particularly rice farmers.
He explained, “Even if the cost of producing the ammonia fertilizer is a little higher in the beginning than others, you’ll save on the freight, you’ll save on the US dollars. We wouldn’t need as a country to have to source the US dollars to buy the fertilizer to get it here.”
“So that’s significant right away…I think it’ll be an unbelievable game changer for manufacturing in Guyana,” the businessman added.
However, Fernandes stressed that while the GTE project addresses one major benchmark for competitiveness, logistics costs remain a key concern. “Remember, government is speaking now about a deepwater harbour which is critical because for us to really become a net exporter of everything we want to export, we need to have larger vessels with bigger capacity coming to and leaving Guyana,” he noted.
Fernandes added that although Guyana can become competitive in local production, the challenge lies in efficiently moving goods to market.
“It’ll take some time, but I know for sure that the government understands these things and they know that if we want to be successful on a global scale, we have to cover not just the gas-to-shore and electricity, but also logistics in and logistics out of Guyana,” he said.
The government has previously stated that Guyana urgently needs a deepwater port, with the investment estimated at over US$1 billion. It has also signalled a willingness to co-invest in the project, which is expected to support a wide range of businesses and make local operations globally competitive as Guyana expands exports and positions itself as a regional transhipment hub.