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.tdi_3.td-a-rec{text-align:center}.tdi_3.td-a-rec:not(.td-a-rec-no-translate){transform:translateZ(0)}.tdi_3 .td-element-style{z-index:-1}.tdi_3.td-a-rec-img{text-align:left}.tdi_3.td-a-rec-img img{margin:0 auto 0 0}@media (max-width:767px){.tdi_3.td-a-rec-img{text-align:center}} Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister the Hon. Gaston Browne continues to play a leading role in piloting bold...

Govt. hunting for private investors to build and operate second power plant at Wales Sep 23, 2024 News …contractor will utilise excess gas brought to shore by Exxon’s pipeline, sell 250MW to GPL The Government of Guyana (GoG) through the Office of the Prime Minister on Sunday issued a Request For Proposals (RFP), seeking qualified companies to design, finance and operate Phase Two of the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) Project. Preliminary Artist’s Impression of the natural gas facility to be constructed at Wales, West Bank Demerara Phase One of the project includes a pipeline to transport the natural gas to shore as well as a Natural Gas Liquids facility and 300 megawatts (MW) power plant. According to the RFP, Phase Two of the GTE project seeks to utilize 75 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMCFD), piped to shore by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL). It should be noted that Phase One only utilizes 50 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD), which amounts to 40% capacity of Exxon’s 250 kilometer 12-inch pipeline. Phase Two will make use of the remaining 60% capacity of the pipeline connected to the Liza Fields in the Stabroek Block to Wales, West Bank Demerara. The selected bidder will be tasked with the design, construction, and operation of a 250 MW combined-cycle power plant, to deliver 2,100 gigawatt hours (GWH) of electricity per annum. This will be sold to the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) via a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).  It was made explicit that investors will recover their investment through the sale of electricity via a 20-to-25-year term (negotiable) Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) “at a price per Kilowatt Hour (KWH)” and via the monetization of the NGLs. At the end of the PPA term, the entire facility will revert to the GOG at no cost. “Phase II GTE will enjoy the same fiscal incentives as Phase I,” the RFP stated.  In addition to the power plant, the contractor will design, construct and operate a NGL facility to produce approximately 6,000 barrels per day of NGL products (propane, butane, and C5+gasolene), utilizing 75 MMCFD of “rich gas.” It was explained that the excess “lean gas,” estimated at 30 MMCFD will be transferred to the GoG at no cost, for utilisation in downstream industries, e.g. fertilizer production, to be located at Wales. The privately operated gas project will be located on no more than 100 acres of land, immediately adjacent to the existing 300 MW Integrated facility being developed by the GoG. “The project will be owned and financed 100% by the private sector, under a project finance structure, which will design and construct the integrated facilities, to a standard and specification that meets and or exceeds that of Phase I of the GTE,” the Office of the Prime Minister indicated. It was also noted, “Only firms (consortia) adjudged to be experienced in Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) and Financing of comparable facilities, will be evaluated. The GOG shall have the right to approve the EPC contract and appoint an independent supervision firm, to ensure that the project is built per the EPC contract and acceptable quality and specifications, pre-approved by the GOG.” Bidders will be provided with the existing Employers’ Requirements for Phase I of the GTE project, along with a template of the EPC contract for reference. In the meantime, government expects responses to the RFP to include financial projections of revenue, expenses, and investments returns using a number of variables including the PPA price per KWH, broken down into the following three elements “(a) payment for the gas; (b) operating and maintenance cost; (c) financing/amortization of the capital costs. Indicate the breakeven price and estimated sale price for each year along with an assumed inflation rate.” Meanwhile, subject to ensuring sufficient revenue to operate the facility and recover the investment at an agreed rate of return, the GOG has reserved the right to: (i) buy-out the project (the Guyanese SPV), any-time after the construction and commissioning, at an agreed formula, such that the investor obtains a return of investment and reasonable accrued return based on the stated cost of capital; (ii) transfer of the entire volume of NGL’s to GOG/GPGI, who will market and distribute with Phase I NGL’s, either at zero cost or other agreed value.  Responses to the RFP must be submitted by November 14, 2024.  Notably, the GoG made it clear it “is not bound to accept any response to this RFP and reserves the right to select any Party for any specific element of the RFP and to annul the process at any time without further direction, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected interested parties.” Related Similar Articles

Canadian mining company expands new gold zones at Guyana project with positive results Sep 23, 2024 News …CEO says they will continue to explore “world-class camp” Kaieteur News- Canadian mining company, G2 Goldfields Inc. earlier this month announced a series of promising results from its ongoing exploration at the OKO-Aremu gold project located in Guyana. The project spans 27,719 acres, and recent drilling has uncovered significant potential for expanding gold resources in the area. In April, the company announced an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the OKO-Aremu project comprising 922,000 ounces of gold (Indicated) and 1,099,000 ounces of gold (Inferred). The company explained that the Oko’s gold source lies along 2.5 kilometers long north-south structure which is defined by the high grade of the Oko Main Zone (OMZ) resources to the north, which entails 686,000 ounces of gold (Indicated) and 495,000 ounces of gold (Inferred) and the Ghanie open pit and underground resource to the south, which includes 236,000 ounces of gold (Indicated), with an additional 604,000 ounces of gold (Interfered). The compa Canadian mining company, G2 Goldfields Inc. operates in OKO/AREMU Region 7, Cuyuni Mazaruni ny added that drilling in the southern half of the structure has unveiled new potential for resource expansion. Moreover, G2 said that follow up drilling of a hole, led to the discovery of a significant new gold horizon to the south of previously defined gold mineralisation.  “Six new drill holes define this emerging zone which has traced gold mineralisation from surface to vertical depths of almost 400m,” the company said. In addition, drilling in the northern and southern portion of the 1.2 kilometers Ghanie Zone, has also been successful in expanding both near surface as well as deeper gold mineralisation. The company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dan Noone was quoted saying, “These recent drill results continue to demonstrate the extraordinary exploration potential of the greater OKO gold system. Gold mineralization in this central part of the greater trend is truly open in all directions. With working capital in excess of Cdn$50 million, we are well capitalized as we continue to explore this world class camp.” G2 Goldfields team comprises professionals who have been directly responsible for the discovery of millions of ounces of gold in Guyana as well as the financing and development of the Aurora Gold Mine (AGM), Guyana’s largest gold mine.The company had disclosed that Anglo Gold Ashanti (AGA), the fourth-largest gold producer in the world, has made a substantial investment in the company. At the close of the subscription, AGA owned approximately 11.7% of G2’s issued and outstanding shares. The Oko district has been a prolific alluvial goldfield since its initial discovery in the 1870’s, and modern exploration techniques continue to reveal the considerable potential of the district. Related Similar Articles

Bandits nabbed after armed robbery at Unity Sep 23, 2024 News Kaieteur News- On Saturday, three men were arrested for an armed robbery committed on Ayan Supermarket at Unity East Coast Demerara. According to police, the men were arrested by ranks on patrol in Regional Police Division 4 ‘C’, a short while after they robbed the Chinese Supermarket loca One of the bandits nabbed by police, Renardo Persaud ted at Unity, Mahaica. Suspected bandit, Lushawn Crawford Police said that around 16:10hrs on Saturday, two of the three suspects entered the supermarket and the other remained in a motorcar they arrived in registration PAB 5491. One of the suspects proceeded to point a gun at Jin Ju Lin the female Chinese cashier while the other busied himself emptying the cash register, carting off an undisclosed amount of cash. They then entered the motorcar and drove off. Anthon Fraser was one of three bandits nabbed by police Due to an alarm being raised, a police patrol that was alerted. Led by a sergeant, the suspected car was spotted in Nabaclis also on the East Coast Demerara. The ranks gave chase and the suspects were eventually intercepted after they crashed into another vehicle. Fortunately, no one in the other vehicle was injured. The men who were identified as Anthon Fraser, from Nabaclis, Lushawn Crawford, from Nabaclis and Renardo Persaud, from Coldigen are in custody as investigations continue. In the motorcar, police discovered a 9mm Beretta Pistol E65974Y with matching magazine and one .389 ammo, $9,750, a haversack, ski-mask and caps. Related Similar Articles

‘National education crisis in Region Nine’ …AFC highlights over 90% failure rate at 2024 CSEC, calls for urgent interventions    Sep 23, 2024 News Kaieteur News- As stakeholders continue to analyse Guyana’s performance at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, the Alliance For Change has said that the mere 5.66% pass rate by students in Region Nine is a national crisis. As such, he has called for an urgent study to be conducted into the performance with a view of identifying the problems and implementing workable solutions. Back in August when the Ministry of Education reported on the performance at this year’s CSEC, Chief Education Officer, Saddam Hussain noted that in 2024, a total of 11,612 students entered for CSEC, a slight decrease from 12,108 in 2023. The CEO stated that the overall pass rate for grades 1-3 declined from 67.34% in 2023 to 67.23% in 2024. Specifically, he highlighted declines in English A, where pass rates fell from 72% in 2023 to 69% in 2024 – a 3% drop. In contrast, English B pass rates improved from 64% in 2023 to 70% in 2024. Speaking at the party’s news conference last Friday, AFC Leader, Nigel Hughes said the results for CSEC for Region Nine indicate an average of 5.66% pass rate for the region. “I’ll just briefly give you these figures and I am sure the ministry can challenge them if they with but they are the ministry’s figures. St. Ignatius Secondary at CSEC 8%, Annai Secondary 7%, Sand Creek Secondary 6%, Aishalton Secondary 8%, Karasabi Secondary 2% and Katoka Secondary 3%.” Hughes told the news conference. He explained that this was an indication that 94% of the students who would have attended the schools mentioned for the last five years would have failed their exams in 2024 and this is a crisis. “What these results mean is that all those students who…I am not sure they graduated who leave secondary school in Region Nine after having spent five years will have absolutely no certification. Now this is a national crisis, it’s not a political crisis, it’s a national crisis because we cannot have any part of this country be subject to a fail rate of 90%, after secondary school, after spending five years.” The AFC leader further stated that the ‘crisis’ is compounded by the fact that there are no vocational plans in place to offer training for the 95% of student who are now finished with their secondary education but still unqualified. “Now the figures that we have I believe are the ministry’s figures and given that this crisis is so severe in Region Nine, we would like to request and demand that the Minister of Education and the Ministry of Education releases all the CSEC results for all the regions in the country because we possibly cannot have an average pass rate of 5.66% or 6% in a secondary school.” Complete failure Hughes lamented that this therefore meant that for the five years spent in the education system, “there have been a complete failure of the delivery of quality education and this brings me to another discussion the difference between output and outcome. Every day, we are regaled in the newspaper and various media that the government is spending more and more money on the construction of school buildings that’s an output.” Furthermore, “The outcome in Region Nine, that we have proof of is that whatever they may have constructed the delivery of education and the outcome which is 5.6% pass rate is clearly completely disproportionate to and has no relation to the amount of money that was spent on buildings. Region Nine is an Indigenous area and therefore it is a matter of crisis that further compounds the way the Indigenous people have been treated by the state.”  Looking back two years ago the pass rate for the region was 14% in 2022 for Region Nine and 19% in 2023. Hughes confidently stated that, “There must be some reason for that drastic decline to 5.66 and if this is not a national crisis then I am not sure what would be.” He said that there is need for an in-depth analysis of the reason “why we have failed the students in Region Nine after five years or during the five years.” He explained that such an analysis can be done in six weeks. Caribbean-wide decline  The Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) had also announced that there was a regional decline of the overall pass rate for both the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC). Dr. Nicole Manning, Director of Operations, Examination Services Division at CXC during the announcement of the results said that the overall regional performance for CAPE was 92.19 %, which she describes as a “slight reduction” from previous year, 2023. For CSEC, there was an overall performance of 69%, slightly consistent to 2023. The CAPE grades from one to five are considered acceptable by CXC. Some preliminary results presented, showed a decrease in acceptable grades in six main subjects. Notably, Biology units one and two saw a drop, with unit one decreasing from 88% in 2023 to 84% this year. Caribbean Studies and Literatures in English both experienced reductions from 97% in 2023 to 95% in 2024. Physics unit one fell by 1%, from 98% in 2023 to 97% in 2024. Pure Mathematics unit one saw a significant decrease from 93% in 2023 to 86% in 2024. Leader of the Alliance For Change, Nigel HughesFor CSEC, grades one to three are deemed acceptable. Preliminary results revealed a significant decline in seven subjects. Chemistry saw a 3% decrease, from 67% in 2023 to 64% in 2024. English A dropped by 2%, from 78% to 76%, while French decreased by 1%. Information Technology fell from 86% in 2023 to 81% in 2024. Integrated Science experienced a decline from 67% to 58%. Mathematics saw a significant drop from 43% in 2023 to 36%, with most candidates achieving grade three. Principles of Accounts fell from 72% in 2023 to 67% in 2024. Manning highlighted several factors contributing to this year’s academic decline. These include an increase in the number of CAPE subject entries and candidates—26,436 in total—while CSEC saw a reduction in subject entries but an increase in candidate entries to 116,232. There was also a rise in absenteeism, with a 5% increase for CAPE and a 7% increase for CSEC. Additionally, there were more reported irregularities and hardships during the exams. Dr. Wesley Registrar and CEO of CXC in his remarks stated that this year the performance in mathematics is a bit lower than last year. “When we did further analysis, we recognised that when we made the restriction of five subjects including mathematics and English that [mathematics and English) dropped to 4.9%, what that tells us is that from 2018 to now, every year we have been losing almost 11,500 students on average who will not fully matriculate into university because they need math and English… if you don’t have math and English employers will pay you less,” he said. Wesley highlighted that the ongoing decline in math and English performance could negatively impact the Caribbean’s economic competitiveness by reducing the number of students capable of driving innovation and critical thinking. “You have less students being able to drive the innovation that is required for the economy to advance and for critical thinking and problem solving and for attitudes to be developed. We are in a very challenging time that we need to give greater attention to mathematics and English,” Wesley stated. To address these challenges, CXC is working on initiatives to improve teaching and learning in Mathematics and English. Wesley mentioned that a team has been commissioned to develop standards for literacy and numeracy, incorporating Artificial Intelligence to enhance educational outcomes. Related Similar Articles

‘Is me own, do a thing fo meh nah’ …miner caught with cocaine, ganja tells police Sep 23, 2024 News Kaieteur News- A Bachelor’s Adventure resident is now in custody after he has found with cocaine in his possession at a camp in Oku Backdam, Region Seven. Marijuana found during the search According to police, on Sunday around 02:00hrs, a team of ranks from Regional Division 7 went to the camp of 46-year-old Mark Ramdass at Oku Backdam. On their arrival, they found Ramdass asleep in his bed.  He was awakened and subsequently, a search was conducted in the camp where a black plastic bag which contained a bottle was discovered inside a pillowcase. Further examinations revealed that the bottle contained several rock-like substances which were suspected to be cocaine, along with a number of Ziploc packets containing seeds, leaves, and stems suspected to be cannabis. Ramdass was informed of the offence committed and cautioned, to which he replied, “Is me own, do a thing fo meh nah.”  He was arrested and escorted to the Bartica Police Station, where he was placed into custody and the suspected narcotics (cocaine and marijuana) weighed. They amounted to 5.4 grams of cocaine and 38.7 grams of marijuana. He remains in custody pending charges. The cocaine found by police ranks Related Similar Articles

TotalEnergies set to develop US$9B Suriname oil resources Sep 23, 2024 News French supermajor TotalEnergies has started to scour the market for deepwater rigs and support vessels to begin development of massive resources discovered offshore Suriname, anonymous sources with knowledge of the tenders told Bloomberg on Friday. Exploration and resource development in the Atlantic Basin is now alive more than ever, following the huge developments offshore Guyana led by ExxonMobil and the plans of TotalEnergies to tap the discovered resources in Guyana’s neighbor, Suriname. TotalEnergies, which partners with APA Corp offshore Suriname, has already made several discoveries in the area. The companies are expected to make as early as next month the final investment decision (FID) to develop part of the resources, according to Bloomberg’s sources. TotalEnergies has reportedly ordered a hull for a 200,000-bpd production vessel, the clearest sign yet that the French supermajor would be moving to develop the project. “They have reserved this hull,” Annand Jagesar, managing director of Suriname’s state oil company, Staatsolie, told Bloomberg. “You’re not going to pay a lot of money for that to have it sitting around,” Jagesar added. TotalEnergies and APA plan to make the final investment decision on the Block 58 project by the end of 2024, targeting first oil in 2028.  Crude oil discoveries in Suriname have opened access to some 2.4 billion barrels in reserves, Wood Mackenzie analysts have estimated. The consultancy also reported the South American nation holds some 12.5 trillion cubic feet in natural gas reserves. A total of nine offshore discoveries have been made in Suriname in the last six years but commercial development of any of them is still in the future. Suriname is often seen as a candidate for a repeat of Guyana’s oil boom since the two neighboring countries share one hydrocarbon basin. However, exploration efforts have taken longer in Suriname and the colossal success of Exxon with the Stabroek Block and its dozen discoveries has yet to be replicated in Guyana’s neighbour. (OILPRICE.COM) Related Similar Articles