GUYANA’S decision to produce oil and gas is rooted in an urgent need to develop. ExxonMobil’s discovery of 11.6 billion oil-equivalent barrels offshore has inspired optimism, offering the country a once-in-a-lifetime chance to transform its economy.
After decades of being one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, oil revenues are allowing Guyana to begin transforming its economy. The country, which started oil production only five years ago, now stands at a crossroads, with human development, infrastructure, and healthcare needs that demand immediate attention.

The oil and gas sector offers financial resources to address these needs. Guyana’s infrastructure is in dire need of improvement. The country needs roads and bridges to boost connectivity, enabling the movement of goods and people, which is essential for economic growth. The government has already begun investing in such projects, but much more needs to be done, and oil provides the capital.

Guyana’s education and healthcare systems also stand to benefit greatly from oil. The country has a strong reputation for producing some of the top-performing students in the Caribbean, but vast inequalities persist, with many students struggling to pass essential subjects like Mathematics and English. To address these disparities, Guyana needs significant investments in educational infrastructure, ensuring that all students have equitable access to resources and opportunities.

Similarly, while Guyana offers free healthcare through its hospitals and clinics, the quality and efficiency of these services require improvement. With oil money, the government has already begun constructing new hospitals and schools, among other things, to improve access to education and healthcare across the country. These developments demonstrate the critical role that oil revenues have already begun to play in meeting Guyana’s human development needs.

For too long, Guyana has also struggled with power instability, an issue that has stunted its economic growth. Now, the country is using oil revenues to invest in energy projects and upgrade its transmission infrastructure. The most transformative of these investments is the Gas-to-Energy project, which will utilise Guyana’s offshore natural gas to deliver cheaper and more stable electricity to its citizens. This project is a game-changer.

In addition to addressing the country’s immediate energy needs, oil revenues have also created fiscal space for the government to invest in renewable energy projects. While oil revenues themselves may not fund these initiatives directly, the financial flexibility they provide allows Guyana to invest other resources, like carbon credit sales, into projects aimed at renewable energy and climate adaptation. As a low-lying coastal state vulnerable to flooding, Guyana faces an existential threat from climate change. Rising sea levels and natural disasters like wildfires impact the government’s ability to protect its population. The country must make significant investments in climate resilience, and oil provides the means to fund these critical adaptation and mitigation efforts.

Opponents of oil and gas production in Guyana argue that the country risks unleashing a “carbon bomb” by producing so much oil, contributing to global emissions. However, Guyana’s oil is of a higher quality than many other crudes, and it generates fewer emissions when burned. The reality is that the world will still need oil and gas for several decades while building the capacity to meet its energy needs with renewables. In this transition period, countries like Guyana, which have cleaner-burning crudes, will need to take the lead as the last producers in the energy mix. Guyana is positioning itself to fulfill this role.

Moreover, Guyana has learned valuable lessons from the mistakes made by industrialized nations. Unlike the United States, which continues to engage in fracking, and China, which relies heavily on coal, Guyana is committed to producing oil in a way that minimises environmental harm. The country’s leadership understands the importance of protecting the environment while securing economic benefits for its people.

As President Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo have noted, despite promises of aid from the developed world to help countries like Guyana adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change, that aid has not materialised at the necessary scale. Guyana cannot afford to wait for assistance. The oil and gas sector provides the capital Guyana needs to build a world-class standard of living for its people. It must do so now.