US Ex-Im Bank Approves $526Mn Gas-to-Energy Loan to Guyana

• The U.S. Export-Import Bank approved a $526Mn loan to Guyana for an energy project designed to double the South American country's installed electric capacity and reduce oil imports, the Guyanese government and Ex-Im said on Thursday.
• The project, which falls under Ex-Im's mandate to help exporters facing competition from China, will use natural gas-powered turbines to generate electricity, Ex-Im said.
• It further noted that the project will reduce more than 460,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year or the equivalent of consuming more than 1Bn barrels of oil.
• According to Ex-Im, the loan will support a joint venture that involves Texas-based Lindsayca and Puerto Rican firm CH4 Systems, with services provided by ExxonMobil and will create 1,500 jobs across 11 states and territories. These two companies had faced direct competition from China to win the Guyana contract.
• The project will include the construction of a natural gas separation plant, a 300 MW combined-cycle gas turbine power plant and a gas supply pipeline near Guyana’s capital, Georgetown.

(Source: Reuters)