By LCN Business Desk
Guyana's oil production is already above 900,000 barrels a day and gas is the next stage, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat said in an interview with the Department of Public Information on Wednesday, 17 September, reported through EIN Presswire. "The shift now is to ensure that we produce and monetize our gas resources," he said.
At Wales the 12-inch pipeline is designed to carry up to 120 million cubic feet of gas a day, which Bharrat said will support "a total of 600 megawatts of power being generated with gas in the Wales area and some other small developments", along with a fertiliser plant and a data centre. A second and larger pipeline is planned for Berbice, where the government is pursuing petrochemicals, natural gas liquids and data centres, according to the same interview.
Who speaks for electricity in Guyana?
Three offices, on three different parts of the same system, and this week's remarks came from the one that owns the resource rather than the grid.
| Office | Holder | What it speaks for |
|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Natural Resources | Vickram Bharrat | The petroleum and gas resource, mining and forestry. Source of this week's 600 MW figure |
| Office of the Prime Minister | Mark Phillips | The 300 MW Wales Gas-to-Energy project. "This project will cut electricity costs in half" |
| Ministry of Public Utilities | Deodat Indar | Guyana Power and Light and the grid. Said first fire is due "some time around December 4th" |
Sources: EIN Presswire on the DPI interview; the Department of Public Information; and Minister Indar as reported by La Caribeña News on 12 September.
The Prime Minister's office said in its release that the contractor is committed to first power by the end of 2026 and that the project "will cut electricity costs in half", according to DPI. On 15 August the Prime Minister said the halving does not arrive with the plant but with full capacity, which is expected in mid-2027, as La Caribeña News reported.
What is the arithmetic at Wales?
| Figure | What it covers | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 120 million cubic feet a day | Capacity of the existing 12-inch pipeline | Bharrat, DPI interview |
| 600 MW | Two power plants the gas can support at Wales, plus small developments | Bharrat, DPI interview |
| 300 MW | The Gas-to-Energy project now under construction, Phase One | Office of the Prime Minister |
| 57 MW | The first turbine, due at first fire | Reported by La Caribeña News, 30 August |
| Mid-2027 | When full capacity, and the promised halving of bills, is expected | Prime Minister Mark Phillips, 15 August |
The second plant that would take Wales from 300 megawatts to 600 has no published cost, contractor or date. La Caribeña News has reported that the government publishes what each solar farm costs but has not published what the gas power plant costs, and that a rooftop system for every household in the country would cost between US$486 million and US$1.27 billion, against a gas programme costing at least US$1 billion.
What the grid delivers today is the other half of the arithmetic. Georgetown went dark again this month after GPL said it had enough power, and the Public Utilities Commission put system losses at 25.43 per cent in 2025 against a target of 22.43 per cent, as La Caribeña News reported.
What did the minister say about mining?
More than 100 non-nationals have been blacklisted over suspected mining violations and gold declarations have risen in 2026 despite tighter enforcement, Bharrat said, according to the interview. Guyana is also flying a mineral inventory across its mining districts with two specialised aircraft, collecting geological data that could identify copper, lithium, rare earth elements and other critical minerals. The data is to go into a national repository and be made available to small and medium-scale Guyanese miners. Where that inventory sits against the region's critical-minerals race was reported in Chile, Argentina and Brazil Race to Refine Lithium.
In forestry he said the country must move from exporting primary products to furniture and construction materials, with forest cover at about 86 per cent. Budget 2026 carries $425 million for reclamation and reforestation and $607 million to expand protected areas.
What does the region say exploration actually needs?
The binding constraint on mineral exploration in Latin America is not the rock. "The greatest challenge of exploration activity is not geology or environmental protection, but rather clearly conveying to society and communities that the world currently needs more minerals and that, to supply this demand, more deposits need to be exploited," William Chávez, senior economic geologist at the New Mexico School of Mines, told BNamericas this week.
His first piece of advice to companies designing an exploration programme is to review the historical geological data, "because they establish a basis for exploration", before advancing to geophysical and geochemical methods. That is the asset Guyana says it is now building with its two survey aircraft, and it is the one part of the exploration problem a government can hand a small miner directly. La Caribeña News reported in August that the United States Deputy Secretary of State came to Georgetown to discuss critical minerals.
What the title card shows
- 600 MW: two power plants the Wales gas supply can support, per Minister Bharrat. Source: EIN Presswire on the DPI interview.
- 300 MW: the Gas-to-Energy project under construction. Source: DPI.
- 57 MW: the first turbine, due around 4 December. Sources: La Caribeña News, 30 August and 12 September.
- 120 million cubic feet a day: capacity of the 12-inch Wales pipeline. Source: EIN Presswire.
- Above 900,000 barrels a day: current oil production, per the minister; ExxonMobil announced the 900,000 barrel milestone in November 2025.
- Mineral inventory: two aircraft surveying for copper, lithium and rare earths, data to be shared with small and medium miners. Source: EIN Presswire.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much power will Wales generate?
The Gas-to-Energy project under construction is 300 megawatts, with a first turbine of 57 megawatts due around 4 December 2026. Minister Bharrat said the gas supply can support two plants totalling 600 megawatts at Wales. The second plant has no published cost, contractor or date.
When will electricity bills fall by half?
The Prime Minister said on 15 August that the halving arrives with full capacity, not with the plant's start, and full capacity is expected in mid-2027.
Which minister is responsible for electricity in Guyana?
Guyana Power and Light and the grid sit with the Ministry of Public Utilities under Deodat Indar. The Gas-to-Energy project is spoken for by the Office of the Prime Minister. The gas resource itself, along with mining and forestry, sits with the Ministry of Natural Resources under Vickram Bharrat.
What is Guyana's mineral inventory?
A survey of designated mining districts using two specialised aircraft to collect geological data on copper, lithium, rare earth elements and other critical minerals, to be placed in a national repository and made available to small and medium-scale miners.
The pipeline is one, the plants are two, and the first turbine is 57 megawatts of the 600 the resource ministry described.