–to finance national development priorities

SENIOR Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, has announced that the government has made its first withdrawal from the Natural Resource Fund (NRF).
Dr. Singh said that pursuant to Section 16 of the NRF Act 2021, US$200 million equivalent to G$41.7 billion has been transferred from the NRF to the Consolidated Fund to finance national development priorities.

This transfer, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance, was made in accordance with the strengthened legal architecture of the NRF Act 2021 and follows the publication in the Official Gazette of all petroleum revenues paid into the fund during the period 1 January to 31 March 2022.

The NRF Act 2021 which came into operation on January 1, 2022, represents a significant improvement in transparency and accountability and the overall management of the natural resource wealth of Guyana for present and future generations.

It would be recalled, that as part of the Budget 2022 process, parliamentary approval was granted for a total of US$607.6 million to be transferred during the fiscal year 2022.
Oil and gas revenues are being generated from the ExxonMobil operations, offshore Guyana.

As it is now, the company has four sanctioned projects offshore Guyana. Of those, Liza Phase One is producing approximately 130,000 barrels per day, using the Liza Destiny floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, while the Liza Phase Two, which started production in February, is steadily ramping up to its capacity of 220,000 barrels per day, using the Liza Unity FPSO vessel.

The third project, Payara, is expected to produce 220,000 barrels per day; construction on its production vessel, the Prosperity FPSO, is running approximately five months ahead of schedule, with start-up likely before year-end 2023.

The fourth project, Yellowtail, is expected to produce 250,000 barrels per day when the One Guyana FPSO comes on stream in 2025.
ExxonMobil is also moving ahead with plans for its fifth development project in the Stabroek Block, Uaru, which is expected to produce up to 250,000 barrels of oil per day.

“These projects will bring huge benefits to Guyana,” President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge, said during a brief interview released by ExxonMobil.
It was reported that returns from the sector are expected to catapult Guyana to the ranks of wealthiest countries in the Western Hemisphere, thereby increasing the government’s fiscal space to invest in initiatives geared at expanding the economy, and improving the overall welfare of citizens.

“Guyana is now poised to be one of the wealthiest countries in the hemisphere; we intend to employ the gains from exploiting these deposits into initiatives geared at expanding the economy, improving competitiveness, giving people the best social services, increasing productivity, enhancing food production, and building new sectors,” President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, had said in his keynote address during a virtual faculty workshop on the microeconomics of competitiveness hosted by the Harvard Business School.

In painting a vivid image of what is expected of the oil-and-gas sector in the near term, Dr. Ali said that, by 2025, operating cash flow, based on total investment, is expected to reach US$3.5 billion.