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By Marianna Parraga and Kemol King
GEORGETOWN (Reuters) -U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil plans to boost natural gas output and supply in Guyana through a large-scale project announced on Wednesday, following the government's call for more gas to fuel onshore power and petrochemical projects.
The "Wales Gas Vision", outlined by Exxon's Guyana head, Alistair Routledge, at an energy conference in Georgetown, is set to provide gas for several petrochemical and power projects through a $1 billion pipeline completed last year.
The government will take a portion of the gas, produced by Exxon at its massive Stabroek Block and transported through the pipeline for power generation and natural gas liquids production.
Also planned is a gas processing and liquefied natural gas (LNG) offshore facility to be built by U.S. company Fulcrum LNG.
Exxon might be in charge of building a separate set of pipelines to transport the gas the government is entitled to as profit gas to Fulcrum LNG's facility, energy minister Vickram Bharrat told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference. The plant will allow LNG exports and gas supply to Guyana's Berbice area for producing fertilizers and alumina.
Exxon and the government have not disclosed total investment figures for the projects. A complete assessment of gas resources at Exxon's block is needed for that, and Exxon must decide how it will use its portion of the gas to be produced, Bharrat said.
But the government believes there is enough gas for commercial projects, the minister added.
Guyana is aiming to add natural gas to an energy mix dominated by oil output, helping to open new sources of revenue, Bharrat said.
"There will be a shift towards gas utilization and monetization," the minister said at the conference. The government is expected to launch its ambitious gas strategy this year.
GAS TO FLOW
The Exxon-led consortium in Guyana, in which U.S. Hess and China's CNOOC participate, plans to ramp up gas output in the coming years, especially through projects involving gas not associated with oil, such as Longtail.
A final investment decision for Longtail, which would be the group's eighth project in the South American country and deliver up to 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of gas, is expected next year.
Exxon is "ready to deliver gas" to shore, Routledge said at Guyana's Energy Conference.
The group's fourth floating oil production facility, built by SBM Offshore that departed from Singapore this week, will start operations in the third quarter, Exxon said.
(Reporting by Kemol King and Marianna Parraga; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and David Gregorio)
