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Guyana exploring exportation of electricity to monetise resources – President Ali says Jun 22, 2024 News Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana has contracted a U.S. firm, Fulcrum LNG to help monetize the country’s gas resources. A number of options are presently on the table for consideration and are pending a full technical and financial analysis, including the export of electricity. President Irfaan Ali addressing reporters during his press conference This was revealed by President Irfaan Ali on Thursday during a press conference at State House, Georgetown. He explained, “We recently concluded the expression of interest for a major gas project outside of the Wales development (Gas-to-Energy project). We had a company identified, that company with the Government of Guyana and Exxon and its partners will now have to have discussions and we will have to together arrive at a model and a plan as to how we will advance this major gas development in our country.” In January, the government invited proposals seeking private sector pitches for the design, financing, construction, and operation of gas infrastructure to support current and future upstream developments in Guyana. The Head of State was keen to note that the government has since assembled a technical team to participate in the discussions and draft a model for the utilization of the gas resources. President Ali anticipates a Heads of Agreement in this regard will be signed by next year. President Ali said, “What we want is the monetization of the gas as fast as possible to add an additional revenue stream and it’s not only gas, it’s the condensate that comes with it. For a matter of fact that has tremendous opportunity and potential for us but we can’t know that, we can’t know the degree of opportunity until the full analysis, technical (and) financial, is completed for us to know what we have.” To this end, he revealed that a number of possibilities are being examined, including the export of energy through the development of an energy corridor to Brazil and Suriname. In addition to that, he cited the marketing of by-products from the natural gas. Ali also hinted at the possibility of a second power plant to position the country as an exporter of electricity. “It also speaks about the development of a shore base facility, additional power plants that could be used for export of not only the gas, but power directly, so there are a number of opportunities that we think can be generated from this gas coming to shore or being processed but those are all things that will be examined in the conversation and then a viable option, the most competitive, cost effective, profitable option will be presented,” the Head of State explained. Presently, the GoG is pursuing a US$2B Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project. This is the country’s first natural gas project. It is expected to generate 300 megawatts of power and an additional 3,400 barrels of by-products daily. Project Head, Winston Brassington previously said the startup of this facility will provide the country with some 4,100 barrels of by-products daily – such as cooking gas and fuel for cigarettes – among others. Guyana however utilises approximately 700 barrels per day of these products, which means the country will have to seek markets for 3,400 barrels of byproducts each day or 1,241,000 barrels on an annual basis. Related Similar Articles

Israel pounds Gaza, killing dozens, as fighting rages Jun 22, 2024 News A woman and a girl react following an Israeli strike that hit a tent camp, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Al-Mawasi area in western Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 21, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem CAIRO, June 21 (Reuters) – Israeli forces pounded Rafah in southern Gaza on Friday, as well as other areas across the enclave, killing at least 45 Palestinians as troops engaged in close-quarter combat with Hamas militants, residents and Israel’s military said. Residents said the Israelis appeared to be trying to complete their capture of Rafah, which borders Egypt and has been the focus of an Israeli assault since early May. Tanks were forcing their way into the western and northern parts of the city, having already captured the east, south and centre. Firing from planes, tanks and ships off the coast caused more people to flee the city, which a few months ago was sheltering more than a million displaced people, most of whom have now relocated again. The Gaza health ministry said at least 25 Palestinians had been killed in Mawasi in western Rafah and 50 wounded. Palestinians said a tank shell hit a tent housing displaced families. “Two tanks climbed a hilltop overseeing Mawasi and they sent balls of fire that hit the tents of the poor people displaced in the area,” one resident told Reuters over a chat app. The Israeli military said that the incident was under review. “An initial inquiry conducted suggests that there is no indication that a strike was carried out by the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) in the Humanitarian Area in Al-Mawasi,” it said. Earlier, the military said its forces were conducting “precise, intelligence-based” actions in the Rafah area, where troops were involved in close-quarter combat and had located tunnels used by militants. Over the past week, the military said, troops targeted a university that served as a Hamas headquarters from which militants fired on soldiers and found weapons and barrel bombs. It did not name the university. In the central Gaza area of Nusseirat, the military said soldiers killed dozens of militants over the past week and found a weapons depot containing mortar bombs and military equipment belonging to Hamas. Some residents said the Israeli onslaught on Rafah had intensified in the previous two days and that the sounds of explosions and gunfire had hardly stopped. “Last night was one of the worst nights in western Rafah: Drones, planes, tanks, and naval boats bombarded the area. We feel the occupation is trying to complete the control of the city,” said Hatem, 45, reached by text message. “They are taking heavy strikes from the resistance fighters, which may be slowing them down.” STRIKES ON KHAN YOUNIS AND GAZA CITY More than eight months into the war in Gaza, Israel’s advance is now focused on the two last areas its forces had yet to seize: Rafah on Gaza’s southern edge and the area surrounding Deir al-Balah in the centre. “The entire city of Rafah is an area of Israeli military operations,” Ahmed Al-Sofi, the mayor of Rafah, said in a statement carried by Hamas media on Friday. “The city is living through a humanitarian catastrophe and people are dying inside their tents because of Israeli bombardment.” Sofi said no medical facility was functioning in the city, and that remaining residents and displaced families lacked the minimum daily needs of food and water. Palestinian and U.N. figures show that fewer than 100,000 people may have remained in the far western side of the city, which had been sheltering more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people before the Israeli assault began in early May. In nearby Khan Younis, an Israeli air strike on Friday killed three people, including a father and son, medics said. In parallel, Israeli forces continued a new push back into some Gaza City suburbs in the north of the enclave, where they fought with Hamas-led militants. On Friday, an Israeli air strike on a Gaza City municipal facility killed five people, including four municipal workers, the territory’s Civil Emergency Service said. Rescue teams were searching the rubble for more missing victims. In the nearby Beach camp, an Israeli air strike on a house killed at least seven people, medics said. Palestinian health officials said at least 45 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza on Friday. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its Gaza office was damaged when heavy-calibre projectiles landed nearby, in an area where hundreds of displaced Palestinians are living in tents. “This grave security incident is one of several in recent days; previously stray bullets have reached ICRC structures,” the organization said in a post on X on Friday. “We decry these incidents that put the lives of humanitarians and civilians at risk.” Israel’s ground and air campaign was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. The offensive has left Gaza in ruins, killed more than 37,400 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, and left nearly the entire population homeless and destitute. The United Nations said on Friday it is Israel’s responsibility – as the occupying power in the Gaza Strip – to restore public order and safety in the Palestinian territory so humanitarian aid can be delivered, amid warnings of imminent famine. Related Similar Articles

Teachers’ strike ends as Union, MoE agree on Terms of Resumption Jun 22, 2024 News President of the Guyana Teachers’ Union, Dr. Mark Lyte shakes hands with Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Shannielle Hoosein-Outar after the signing of the Terms of Resumption on Friday as another person looks on. Kaieteur News – The Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) on Friday agreed to end the ongoing teachers’ strike and return to the classroom on Tuesday. The Union and the Ministry of Education reached an agreement on the Terms of Resumption. Further, it was agreed that conciliation will begin on Wednesday to address the Union’s multi-year agreement, President of the GTU Dr. Mark Lyte announced on his social media. Among the terms of agreement are that there shall be an end to the strike and full resumption of work by all teachers/educators within two working days; There shall be no victimization by either party; There shall be no loss of service for any teachers/educators; Teachers/educators will return to their respective positions held before the strike; There shall be no transfers upon resumption; That the status quo ante shall prevail subject to any ruling which may emanate from extant legal proceedings between the two parties; Upon the full resumption of work by teachers/educators, conciliation will commence forthwith to determine whether the timeframe proposed by GTU, 2019-2023 or MOE 2024 and onwards should form part of a new multi-year agreement and that both parties shall conduct discussions in accordance with the existing 1990. “I am here to make a very short statement and to provide an update to the membership of the GTU. First of all let me say that this has been a very difficult time for all of us not only the executives of the Union but for teachers and educators across Guyana. So when no one else stood, any other Union stood for its members like we did resolutely over the last 70 odd days,” the GTU President said during his live statement on Facebook. He thanked all teachers who supported the strike and noted that the decision to sign the terms of resumption was taken “through fresh country wide consultation.” Lyte explained that teachers from all three counties, though not 100 percent representative of all striking teachers, believed that the best option currently is to return to work and allow for the grievance procedure to take precedent. “Hence you see number eight clearly inked that the Union will allow the grievance procedure as signed in 1990 to be the basis of our negotiations going forward and so on Wednesday, the 26th will be the first set of engagements coming out of these discussions. We will meet with the Ministry to commence the process of conciliation on Wednesday,” he said. Furthermore, Dr. Lyte said that the GTU tried its best to get the government to agree to interim payments or cash grants as part of the terms of resumption. However, he disclosed that the government made it clear Friday’s meeting did not form part of the conciliation or pre-term process. “Government clearly declared that is not (a) part of the conciliation or the pre-term process. We tried to push that it did not work and as a Union, we took a decision in the interest of our teachers who are concerned about what would happen in the August term, who are concerned about what would happen in other facets of their lives,” he said. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education in a separate statement on its Facebook Page expressed pleasure at the resumption of duties of teachers countrywide. The Education Ministry had reached out to the Labour Ministry on May 12, 2024 for assistance to mediate in the ongoing discussions with the GTU after there was a breakdown in negotiations between the Ministry and the GTU regarding the question of which years the new multi-year agreement should address. “The request was made pursuant to the provisions of the 1990 Memorandum of Agreement “the avoidance and settlement of disputes” between the Government of Guyana and the Guyana Teachers’ Union and the Labour Act, Cap. 98:01, which allows the impasse in respect of the timeframe to be referred to the Labour Minister for Conciliation. A meeting was held on Monday, June 13, 2024 at the Ministry of Labour and was mediated by the Chief Labour Officer,” the ministry said. Additionally, there were a number of meetings held over the last few weeks and which saw the GTU demanding a 20 percent increase across the board before resuming the conciliation talks. However, the Ministry had rejected that claim as abnormal in the circumstances and an attempt to place the ministry under duress. Meanwhile, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, thanked the Ministry of Labour and specifically the Chief Labour Officer for its intervention. Related Similar Articles