"Over the past few months, Guyana has seen an increase in heavy winds – some that were intense enough to cause damage to homes leaving families with added expenses.
But there might be even more to come."
We can be sure that much more will come. The article goes on to cover many issues related to climate change.
See also from this blog:
Guyana - more storms? (2017)
Natural gas in Guyana - flaring and venting (2020)
"Guyana is now closer to launching its first major initiative in renewable energy. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently granted approval for construction of the US$45M Hope Wind Farm Project. This represents the first substantial utility-scale renewable energy initiative to be implemented in the new oil producing South American country.
According to project documents, the 25.2MW wind farm will generate over 80GWh per year, to be delivered to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL)’s grid according to the terms of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and Grid Interconnection Agreement. This wind energy therefore represents over 10% of GPL’s gross total electricity generation, enough to supply 7000 homes with power."
Another article appeared in the Guyana Chronicle.
We look forward to GPL getting a PPA agreed.
Methane is a more dangerous greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Fortunately it is less common. Recently satellites have been used to pin point sources with a view to stopping it from contaminating the atmosphere. Most is emitted by leaking oil facilities. Guyana is not on the map yet.
See this report from phys.org.
As the oil is extracted natural gas will also come with it. The amount and composition of the gas varies from well to well and time to time. However the gas is largely methane. It is not the same as 'cooking gas' which is propane or butane. Natural gas can be processed to produce 'cooking gas' and other products.
Large amounts of natural gas can be a real problem for the oil company. There seem to be four options for handling it. It is often reinjected back into the well which can increase the amount of oil available for extraction. This requires compressing the gas to force it back down into the well especially if the well is deep as it is for Guyana.
Secondly, to transport the gas to the shore which requires a pipeline on the sea bed which is a big project requiring time and resources to put in place. This may be the best option in the medium term. As I understand it transporting the gas by ship is not an option as this would require liquefying it first - a difficult and energy intensive operation.
Then there is venting which simply invisibly releases the gas into the atmosphere. This is sounds simple but is a very bad idea since methane is a powerful, potent greenhouse gas and will contribute to global warming. There would seem to be other potential hazards too as methane is invisible, inflammable and can be harmful.
I am unsure what the current status is here in Guyana regarding natural gas but hope this outline may help understanding. There is clearly no existing pipeline for gas. Reinjection and some flaring does take place.
An issue not mentioned above is leakage of methane. No matter how the gas is handled there will be some amount of leakage. It is the job of the oil company to minimise this as far as possible. Such is the concern about methane that satellites are being used to track sources of methane leaks.
Sources:
Natural gas for domestic demand by 2023
https://guyanachronicle.com/2019/11/07/natural-gas-for-domestic-demand-by-2023/
Natural gas
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas
Environmental Implications of Flaring and Venting in Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production
http://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/html/10.11648.j.ijema.20160406.13.html
Despite Their Promises, Giant Energy Companies Burn Away Vast Amounts of Natural Gas
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/climate/natural-gas-flaring-exxon-bp.html