The Chinese translation is being made; the original is shown for now.
Oct 21, 2026 News
…says Guyana must conduct independent analysis
(Kaieteur News) – ExxonMobil has informed Guyanese officials that the company needs more gas to maximise oil production in the Stabroek Block, a development that may push back the country’s plans for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and exports, according to a Reuters report.
The country should however ensure that its policies are not crafted by the oil giant, according to Senior Energy Governance, Policy & Strategy Advisor, Anthony Paul. In his most recent column, published by this newspaper on Sunday, the energy expert urged the country to do an independent analysis to guide its policy on gas development.
He first sought to explain that a gas discovery is not the same as gas available for sale.
查看配图：‘Exxon’s estimate on gas resources should not determine national strategy’ - Energy expert
Anthony Paul, Senior Energy and Strategy Advisor and former Director of Geology and Geophysics at the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Energy
He explained, “In an oil reservoir, gas may be needed for pressure maintenance, reinjection or other reservoir-management purposes that protect oil recovery. The value of that molecule may therefore be greater underground, at least temporarily, than if it were immediately sent ashore or exported.”
Paul noted that while it may be used for LNG, electricity or fertiliser, reinjection is also crucial.
The advisor however cautioned, “This does not mean that Exxon’s estimate should automatically determine national strategy. The operator properly has to optimise reservoir performance and the commercial value of its developments.”
On the other hand, Paul pointed out that the government as the owner of the resource hold a different obligation. He said, “It must understand independently why particular reinjection volumes are required, what incremental oil recovery they support, how those requirements change through time, what alternatives exist, and how new developments such as Longtail, Haimara or later discoveries alter the portfolio.”
Longtail, Exxon’s eight project is currently under Government review as the first Stabroek development centred heavily on gas, with start-up proposed for 2030, while the gas-rich Haimara, a ninth development, is progressing through the regulatory process for the early 2030s.
As such, Paul reasoned that the question is therefore not simply, “How much gas has Guyana discovered?” but “How much gas can reliably leave the reservoirs, when, for how long, and without sacrificing greater value elsewhere in the petroleum system?”
The Energy Strategist noted that changing a plan is not necessarily evidence that the original plan was wrong. Paul said that good strategy must neither be rigid nor disposable. “It must be durable enough to support long-lived investments, but adaptable enough to change when geology, markets, economics or national priorities change. The difficulty is that infrastructure and contracts become progressively harder to change,” according to the specialist.
Offering advice to the nation on the backdrop of the Reuters article, he said that if the reported reinjection requirement materially alters gas availability, and if appraisal of the new discovery enlarges the portfolio, Government can reassess its LNG ambitions before every downstream commitment becomes difficult to reverse.
He stressed the importance of government conducting its own assessments, as learning of the mismatch after the LNG plant is built, the pipeline sized, gas-sales agreements signed and lenders expecting repayment may be costly.
Furthermore, Paul pointed to the importance of programme management in keeping projects on schedule. “It should help Government understand the consequences of changing the programme itself: which commitments have already hardened, which remain flexible, where costs migrate, what can be repurposed, and which decisions should wait for better information,” he said.
In an October 13 report, Reuters reported that Guyanese officials are now weighing whether to shrink a planned LNG project or skip exports altogether and use the gas for domestic power and petrochemical facilities only.
The country revealed ambitious plans to monetise its massive gas resources, weighing exports as a prime option and a floating LNG facility. The report however states that the Exxon group, which also includes Chevron and China’s CNOOC is forecasting it will need about 2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of gas for reinjection into oilfields so it can meet crude output targets at its government-approved projects.
The government has yet to make a final decision on what it will do with the reduced amount of available gas, frustrating potential investors, sources told Reuters while adding that scaling back the LNG project is the most likely plan.
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.