Lindsayca bids US$493M for NGL facility as Chinese firm offers US$28M

(Kaieteur News) – Already unable to meet the deadline for Phase One of the Wales Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project, Lindsayca Guyana Inc., owned by Venezuelan nationals has submitted two bids for a natural gas liquids (NGLs) storage and offloading facility and pipeline to support the GTE project.

Bids published by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) indicate that the contractor submitted two financial proposals, competing alongside a Chinese firm that submitted a vastly lower bid.

Lindsayca’s two bids were US$537,067,823 and US$493,409,267.

Meanwhile, the third and final bid was from China CAM Engineering Co Ltd. The proposal from the Chinese was just about 6 per cent of Lindsayca’s lowest financial proposal to government- US$27,970,686.

Ongoing construction activities at the GTE project site, Wales, West Bank Demerara

Sources involved in the GTE project told Kaieteur News that the September 17 tender for storage tanks was structured to favor the incumbent contractor and mask a widening cash shortfall at the ongoing Wales development. In fact, industry insiders said that the timeline heavily favored Lindsayca, a contractor currently struggling to meet baseline deadlines on the project’s primary phases.

Sources explained, “While an initial 12 international consortiums originally expressed interest in the natural gas liquids (NGL) tank construction, the task force issued a sudden “flash-bid,” giving contenders less than a month to review full engineering specifications and clarifications before submitting proposals.”

Given the short timeframe and complex engineering design—to which Lindsayca already had prior, unrestricted access as the existing GTE contractor—multiple sources claim that at least two of the competing companies submitted formal written requests seeking standard timeline extensions to prepare competitive bids. Those requests were rejected, according to individuals familiar with the correspondence.

In what appears to be a push to award additional, higher-priced work to the delayed contractor exposes a stark contradiction in the administration’s public messaging regarding project cost overruns.

In a recent press conference, President Irfaan Ali denied that the government was negotiating a massive new payout to the contractor. Ali publicly insisted there was “no discussion” underway regarding granting additional funds to Lindsayca to complete the facility.

However, financial analysts and internal sources suggest the task force is using the new storage tank contract as a strategic workaround. “By boxing out competitors who requested standard extensions, the government is positioned to award a new, premium-priced contract to Lindsayca effectively injecting the demanded capital through the backdoor of a separate procurement process without amending the original delayed contract,” a source close to government explained.

The standoff places the government at a familiar geopolitical and commercial crossroad. For the NGL storage tanks, the administration once again faces a stark binary: award the contract to a lower-cost Chinese firm with a track record of executing heavy civil infrastructure in Guyana, or select Lindsayca, an expensive contractor that has not only missed delivery targets but has already dragged the government before a Dispute Adjudication and Avoidance Board (DAAB) to fight for cost-overrun claims. The continued institutional backing of the Venezuelan-American contractor also raises questions.

Delays on the GTE plant have forced Guyana to rely on rented, heavy-fuel Turkish powerships at an estimated cost of roughly GUY $126 million a day. With the national grid still tethered to heavy fuel oil, consumers continue to face recurring blackouts and pump shortages whenever supply chains tighten.

Further complicating the procurement process is the methodology used to justify the latest tank award. According to recent reports and internal documents, the GTE taskforce relied on the artificial intelligence programme Claude to assist in drafting project evaluations. The resulting documentation provided the technical rationalisation to recommend Lindsayca, despite its pricing coming in substantially higher than the competing Chinese offer.

The decision to expand Lindsayca’s scope comes as the company seeks a massive capital injection. Sources said the company recently wrote to both the Guyanese government and the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, to request more than $120 million in additional funds to complete its existing obligations.

While officials have assured the public that the GTE facility will deliver power to the grid by December, Lindsayca has reportedly acknowledged internally and to the U.S. Embassy that a December delivery is unachievable.

Sources said internal project schedules show that the earliest the facility might conduct isolated test fires is January, 2027. Meanwhile, delivery of stable power to the national grid is not anticipated until the second quarter of 2027 at the earliest.

It was reported that 12 bids were opened for the NGL storage and offloading facility and pipeline. These included: China National Machinery Import & Export Co. (JV) SINOPECNANJING Engineering and Construction Inc. (China); ISI ANDINA Corp S.A (Panama) (joint venture with) ESGCOL Guyana Inc.; Worley Inc. (Huston) joint venture with Viridian Energy Ltd (UK); Persaud Engineering and Hydraulic Services; BK International Inc.; Kent Huston Offshore Engineering LLC (joint venture with) Environmental Engineering Solutions Inc.; JEREH HENGRI Engineering and Technology Company Ltd (China); China Camc Engineering Company Limited; Kalpataru Projects International Limited (India); China Railway First Group Company Ltd. (joint venture with) China Petroleum Engineering and Construction; ALYA CONSTRUTORA S.A (Brasil); and Baywood Continental Limited (Nigeria).

Kaieteur News reported that in its request for pre-qualification advertisement, the Office of the Prime Minister stated that the facilities are required by the GoG to enhance the capacity for safe storage, efficient operations, marine offloading capabilities and effective distribution and marketing of NGLS, both domestically and internationally.

“The NGL storage and offloading project is planned for development within and /or near the Wales Industrial Zone approximately 25 km inland from the mouth of the Demerara River on the West Bank adjacent to the Phase I Power Plant currently under construction, and’ or on the East Bank of Demerara River at Garden of Eden. The Gas-to-Energy (GTE) Phase I project includes a Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) fractionation plant to extract liquids (C3, C4, C5+) and provides limited storage,” the document explained.

The document further detailed that the facility should be able to receive and store sufficient volume of NGLs to allow for no disruption in the phase I plant and to optimise batch offloading to marine vessels. “The production rate from phase I is anticipated to be approximately 4,200 bbls per day of NGLs. The facilities should be sufficiently flexible to accommodate, with modifications, additional future NGLs anticipated from potential future NGL production facilities,” the OPM stated.

Source: Kaieteur News