GUYANA · ENERGY · UNITED STATES
Key Facts
- —The country Guyana is an English-speaking South American country that has turned into a fast-growing oil producer since ExxonMobil began pumping offshore in 2019.
- —The project The Wales gas-to-energy plant brings offshore gas ashore to a 300-megawatt power station and a gas liquids plant, backed by a US$527 million US Export-Import Bank loan.
- —Why it matters The plant is late and is meant to halve power prices, and the builder’s US$759 million contract already rose 12.8% in a May settlement.
- —What is claimed The US Embassy is pressing the government to pay the Texas contractor Lindsayca another US$102 million, a claim from unnamed sources that neither government has addressed in public.
- —What is confirmed President Irfaan Ali confirmed in September that Lindsayca had asked for more money, and stressed that the request had not been discussed.
- —The timetable First power is due by the end of 2026, all gas turbines by early 2027 and full combined-cycle output by June 2027.
- —What it means for you The plant is a US-financed, US-built showcase in a country where American firms compete head-on with Chinese contractors.
- —Still open Whether any extra money is paid, and how it would square with the penalty clauses agreed in May.
The US Embassy in Georgetown is pressing Guyana’s government to pay the Texas contractor building its flagship gas-to-energy plant another US$102 million, the daily Kaieteur News reported on Sunday 18 October 2026, citing unnamed sources close to the talks. The plant at Wales, on the West Bank of the Demerara River, is financed with a US$527 million loan from the US Export-Import Bank and is meant to halve Guyanese electricity prices.
Neither the US Embassy nor the Office of the President had published any response by Monday 19 October. President Irfaan Ali said in September that the contractor, Lindsayca, had asked for more money, but that the request “has not been discussed.”
What the Report Says
Kaieteur News, a privately owned Georgetown daily, wrote that “sources close to the negotiations said the Embassy is backing Lindsayca’s demand.” It said the money would go towards finishing the natural gas liquids plant and the 300-megawatt power station, which it said were originally due by the end of 2024.
The paper also wrote that Lindsayca senior vice president Nelson Drake met Ali after appearing as a sponsor at an oil and gas summit in Caracas, Venezuela, earlier in October. It said Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, general secretary of the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic, had refused to meet him, and none of this has been confirmed by the parties.
In an interview with the paper, US Ambassador Nicole Theriot blamed the delays on poor ground at the site and said fixing it took 18 months and more than US$100 million. She said the company expects to meet its year-end deadline, and the paper did not say when the interview took place.
This is not the first claim of a large top-up. In April the same paper reported that Lindsayca wanted US$250 million more to finish by the end of 2026, weeks before the government announced a smaller settlement.
What the Government Has Confirmed
The Office of the Prime Minister announced on 14 May that it had settled two disputes with Lindsayca Guyana Inc. over soil stabilisation and delays, decided by an adjudication board in January 2025. The deal raised the contract by 12.8% on its original US$759 million, or roughly US$97 million, and both sides dropped claims to past late-delivery penalties capped at 10% of the price.
In return Lindsayca committed to first power by the end of 2026, all gas turbines by the first quarter of 2027 and combined-cycle operation by June 2027. If it misses those dates the government can reinstate the penalties, and it put the whole programme, including new transmission lines and a national control centre, at no more than US$1.1 billion.
Lindsayca’s country manager, Luis Pirela, told Public Utilities Minister Deodat Indar in September that soil work at Wales took about 18 months before foundations began. About 10,000 piles, some reaching 38 meters into the ground, now carry the plant, according to the government’s information service.
The government says the plant will deliver about 57 megawatts at first and up to 228 megawatts before reaching its full 300 megawatts in 2027. Until then the state utility, Guyana Power and Light, still leans on power ships rented from UCC JV, a joint venture with Turkey’s Karpowership.
Why Washington Has a Stake
The US Export-Import Bank, the federal export credit agency, approved US$527 million for Guyana’s Ministry of Finance on 26 December 2024 for the gas separation plant, the power plant and pipeline services. It said the loan supports a US joint venture of Texas-based Lindsayca and CH4 Systems, a Puerto Rican small business, plus services from ExxonMobil, and about 1,500 US jobs in 11 states and territories.
The bank filed the deal under its China and Transformational Exports Program, saying the US firms had faced direct competition from China for the contract. Embassies routinely lobby for their own companies abroad, but a push for more public money would test the government’s promise of cheaper power.
What It Means for You
For US investors and exporters, Wales is a test of US-financed infrastructure in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and its cost and timing shape how Guyana judges American contractors against Chinese ones. A bigger bill would also eat into the US$1.1 billion ceiling the government has set for the whole programme.
For businesses and residents in Guyana, the promised 50% cut in power tariffs depends on the plant running at scale, not on the first turbine. Any new dispute with Lindsayca would risk pushing that relief deeper into 2027.
What Is Not Known
No named official has confirmed that the US Embassy asked Guyana to pay US$102 million, and it is not clear whether that sum would come on top of the roughly US$97 million agreed in May. Kaieteur News did not say whether it asked the embassy, the government or Lindsayca for comment.
It is also unclear when Ambassador Theriot gave her interview and whether Nelson Drake met President Ali, as the paper says. Lindsayca has published no statement on its request for more money on its own website.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Guyana’s gas-to-energy project?
It is a 300-megawatt gas-fired power plant and a gas liquids plant at Wales, on the West Bank of the Demerara River, fed by offshore gas from the Stabroek Block. First power is now due by the end of 2026, after delays caused by soft soil at the site.
Who is Lindsayca?
Lindsayca is a Texas-based company that leads the US joint venture building the plant with CH4 Systems, a Puerto Rican small business. Its local unit, Lindsayca Guyana Inc., holds a contract that rose to about US$856 million in a May 2026 settlement.
Did the US Embassy ask Guyana to pay US$102 million more?
That claim comes from unnamed sources quoted by Kaieteur News on 18 October 2026. Neither the embassy nor the government had commented in public by 19 October.
Who is paying for the plant?
Guyana’s government is paying, helped by a US$527 million loan from the US Export-Import Bank approved in December 2024. The government says the whole programme will cost no more than US$1.1 billion.
Sources: Department of Public Information, President Ali on Lindsayca, 18 September 2026, Office of the Prime Minister press release via DPI, 14 May 2026, DPI, site visit by Minister Indar, 16 September 2026, DPI, statement on the Karpowership contract, 4 June 2026, US Export-Import Bank, 26 December 2024, US Embassy Georgetown, statements page (checked 19 October 2026), Kaieteur News, 18 October 2026, Kaieteur News, 22 April 2026. All retrieved 19 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief