GUYANA has been steadfast in developing its oil and gas sector ever since first oil in 2015 and resource estimates now top 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
Within the last two years, critics far and wide have pronounced impending doom from the resource curse, Dutch disease and other maladies that befall resource-rich nations.
But, thus far, Guyana remains on course to responsibly develop its oil, while spreading the benefits of development to other areas of the economy and protecting the environment in the process.
In May 2022, at a CARICOM-US forum, Guyana’s sovereign right to produce its oil and gas was a heavily-debated subject. President Irfaan Ali asked attendees: “if you’re locking out new suppliers, it is to whose advantage? We can very well be creating a monopoly for those who are already in the business, who have already extracted this natural resource and developed their own jurisdiction.”

For Guyana, oil represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to modernise the country after decades of low growth and economic malaise. Even critics of fossil fuel development recognise that the world will need oil for the foreseeable future and countries can both develop those resources and invest for the future.
Norway is one prime example, having amassed a vast fortune since its offshore oil discoveries decades ago. It now stewards those investments in one of the world’s most prolific sovereign wealth funds and invests in high growth areas such as renewable energy, while providing extensive funding for climate adaptation and forestry conservation. This is proof that it is possible to produce responsibly and protect the environment while doing so.

President Ali echoed a concern from many developing countries that those who benefitted the most from industrialisation and modernised their economies with fossil fuels should not stand in the way of countries like Guyana who rely on multilateral funding from partners to bring large-scale projects to life.
Restrictive investment policies that prevent new fossil fuel infrastructure could unfairly block development from new producers while allowing entrenched players to continue to be the sole beneficiaries.

With Guyana as a site for some of the biggest discoveries in the last few decades for offshore drilling, it’s no wonder that the offshore oil industry is seeing a resurgence and an increase in spending for the first time in years. Rystad Energy’s April 2022 report found that offshore spending will account for 68 per cent of spending on newly-sanctioned projects over the next two years, and “will eclipse $100 billion in 2023 and 2024,” with Guyana being a prime example.
Contrary to some critics, Guyana has taken measures to support its rapid pace of development and maintain its responsibility to mitigate the impacts of climate change and be good environmental stewards. Continued investments in all areas such as skills certification, safety, spill response and remediation bode well for Guyana’s ability to prevent and recover from an incident.

Just last weekend, the Private Sector Commission urged the country to find a balance between development and the need to earn revenues and the environment.
“It is inconceivable that any sensible Guyanese would consider reversing this massive progress but, yes, every sensible Guyanese must also consider the absolute need to also sustain and protect our environment and guard against the unlikely and highly improbable event of an oil spill and its consequential fallout.”
To this point, according to the Ministry of Finance Guyana has already received 20 per cent of the projected US$1.63 billion in 2023 revenues as of April, which is held in the Natural Resource Fund. More oil revenues in the Fund creates a cushion in case of economic emergencies and allows the government to further invest in benefits for the Guyanese people such as improved infrastructure and investments in other sectors like agriculture, education, or health.

Guyana has come so far over the last few years, and despite the critics, it has secured its position as a leading producer because the world will require oil and gas for decades to come and Guyana will be there to help to meet that need.