Dear Editor,

LIKE many, I was intrigued when I heard that Rystad Energy would be giving a presentation on Guyana’s oil industry. I was already somewhat familiar with Rystad’s general conclusions, which have appeared in the media over the past months, but was struck by the depth and extent of the research Rystad’s Sonya Boodoo laid out Tuesday evening.

The data will provide plenty for citizens, government officials and private sector leaders to pore over in the coming days and weeks. Overall, however, I believe the outlook is extremely positive for our country. The data presented also provided important perspective for the nature of our recent oil discoveries. For example, Rystad’s research shows that since 2015, Guyana has easily been one of the hottest regions for oil discoveries in the world. With around 3 billion barrels discovered in the last three years, we far exceed discoveries in notable producers such as the US, Norway, China and Saudi Arabia. It’s no wonder that our small nation is quickly entering the international limelight.

I was also struck by the analysis of oil barrels per capita. The per capita breakdown indeed shows the sheer magnitude of our reserves and the impact, relative to our small population.
In this sense, Guyana is projected to be the global leader by a comfortable margin. By Rystad’s calculation, there will be 3,900 barrels for each Guyanese – that’s a full 1,000 more barrels per capita than the United Arab Emirates. It’s also far above the ratios for some of our neighbors, such as Brazil and Trinidad, with only 200 barrels per citizen.

What does this mean for Guyana? The scope of our discoveries means that we will be the subject of international focus and attention. There is no doubt that we need to see a lot of investment in infrastructure, education and healthcare. Hopefully, the international scrutiny will create a higher sense of urgency when it comes to how profits are governed. But the scope of our reserves relative to our population size also represents a huge opportunity. Compared to other oil-producing nations, our infrastructure, education and healthcare systems need to support a much smaller group of citizens. This will reduce scope and, by extension, costs. If revenues can be responsibly allocated, there is plenty of reason for optimism.

Regards
Clement Smith