Lindsayca submits two high-priced bids for Guyana gas project facilities
Two proposals from the existing Wales Gas-to-Energy contractor were far above a Chinese company’s offer, as scrutiny grows over tender rules, delays and the project’s expected completion date.
Lindsayca Guyana Inc. has submitted two bids to build a natural gas liquids (NGL) storage and offloading facility and pipeline for Guyana’s Wales Gas-to-Energy project, despite already missing the deadline for the project’s first phase. The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board published bids of US$537,067,823 and US$493,409,267 from Lindsayca, whose owners are Venezuelan nationals.
China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd. submitted the third and lowest proposal, at US$27,970,686—about 6% of Lindsayca’s cheaper bid. Twelve companies or joint ventures had been listed among the bids opened for the work, including firms from China, Panama, the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Brazil and Nigeria, as well as Guyanese contractors. The list included Worley Inc. with Viridian Energy Ltd., Persaud Engineering and Hydraulic Services, BK International Inc. and Kalpataru Projects International Ltd.
People familiar with the project told Kaieteur News that a September 17 tender gave bidders less than a month to examine engineering specifications and submit offers. They said 12 international consortiums had initially shown interest, and that at least two prospective bidders requested more time to prepare competitive bids. According to those individuals, the requests were refused. They argued that the compressed schedule favored Lindsayca, which already had access to the project’s technical information as the incumbent contractor; those claims have not been independently established.
The procurement has also raised questions about the government’s position on additional funding. President Irfaan Ali recently said there was no discussion about providing Lindsayca with more money to complete the facility. However, sources and financial analysts cited in the account said the separate tank contract could provide a route to additional capital without changing the original agreement. Lindsayca has reportedly sought more than US$120 million from the Guyanese government and the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown to meet its existing obligations.
The choice pits the substantially lower Chinese proposal against Lindsayca, which has missed delivery targets and taken cost-overrun claims to a Dispute Adjudication and Avoidance Board. The account also says the project task force used the artificial-intelligence system Claude to help draft evaluation documents that supported recommending Lindsayca, despite the gap between the bids. The methodology and recommendation have become another point of scrutiny.
The delay has wider consequences for electricity supply. Guyana continues to rely on rented Turkish powerships running on heavy fuel oil, at an estimated cost of about GUY$126 million a day. The country’s grid remains tied to that fuel, and consumers face recurring blackouts and fuel shortages when supply chains tighten.
The Office of the Prime Minister’s pre-qualification notice says the new facilities are intended to improve safe NGL storage, operations, marine offloading, distribution and marketing in Guyana and abroad. The proposed location is within or near the Wales Industrial Zone, about 25 kilometres inland from the Demerara River mouth, beside the Phase I power plant, or at Garden of Eden on the river’s east bank. Phase I includes a fractionation plant to separate propane, butane and heavier liquids, with only limited storage.
The planned facility must hold enough NGLs to keep the first-phase plant operating without interruption and support efficient batch transfers to ships. The government anticipates production of about 4,200 barrels a day and says the system should be adaptable, with modifications, to handle output from possible future NGL plants. Although officials have said power will reach the grid by December, Lindsayca has reportedly told internal contacts and the U.S. Embassy that this deadline cannot be met. Project schedules cited by sources put isolated test fires no earlier than January 2027 and stable electricity delivery no earlier than the second quarter of that year.
