ON January 15, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh announced a $1.146 trillion national budget for Guyana’s development in 2024. This has thus far been the largest budget in the country’s history, representing a 46.6 per cent increase from the $781.9 billion 2023 budget.

Noteworthy is the fact that the oil and gas sector’s contribution to the country’s developmental thrust in 2024 will see an increase of 91.9 per cent from the2023 figure—meaning that while $125.1 billion from oil revenues supported the national budget in 2023, this year a whopping $240.1 billion from the Natural Resource Fund will be used to cushion the trillion-dollar budget.

The oil and gas industry has significantly benefited the country’s economic development, both by the direct increase in revenues through earnings from Guyana’s profit shares, as well as the economic boom that was triggered by the emergence of the sector. For context, from 2015—the year of the first oil discovery to 2024, the national budget has increased by over 518 percent. For context, the 2015 budget was $221 billion. By 2019, the year production began, the budget increased to $300.7 billion. After just over a year of production, the 2021 budget was announced as $383 billion. This steady increase continued, taking us to the current point of a trillion-dollar sum.

The oil and gas sector expanded by 45.9 per cent in the past year with an unparalleled production of 142 lifts of one million barrels each in 2023, up from 101 in 2022. This increase in production is also reflected in Guyana’s increasing profit share of oil, which translates to an increase in the sum gained yearly from the sector. In fact, the Minister of Finance shared that Guyana received over US$1.6 billion in proceeds from the oil and gas sector last year, inclusive of royalties. This, too, with two FPSOs in production.

Over the last several years, the increasing budget has resulted in tangible infrastructural benefits for Guyanese through the injection of oil revenues into infrastructural development such as improved roads, healthcare facilities and upgraded utilities. These transformative investments will benefit the quality of life of Guyanese, while also increasing the country’s investment prospects.

Guyana is poised to become a major player in the global energy landscape, cementing itself as a beacon of progress and prosperity. With continued financial backing from the oil sector, the momentum is expected to continue throughout 2024, notably with three FPSOs in production—with the Prosperity FPSO now adding to the daily production numbers. This upward trajectory sets the stage for future budgets. The milestones achieved in the country’s oil industry mark a pivotal moment in the country’s development. Guyana’s future is promising and with the benefits of the oil being widely distributed, the citizens can all enjoy a higher standard of living with bountiful opportunities yet to come.