TEN years ago, in May 2015, a single exploration well drilled offshore Guyana rewrote the country’s future.

It was a turning point that no one could have predicted. A year earlier, Shell, ExxonMobil’s original partner in the Stabroek Block, had sold its 50% stake to Exxon for just $1. With that, Exxon was left to scout for new partners to share the risk of drilling in risky waters. The company found collaborators in Hess Corporation and CNOOC of China. Together, the trio took a chance on Liza 1 and struck one of the largest oil discoveries in the world that year.

What if they hadn’t? What if Exxon chose a different well and came up dry, or decided the basin was not worth the effort? On a day like today, Guyana might have remained a footnote in frontier exploration history. Instead, that single well launched a chain reaction that transformed Guyana into the fastest growing economy in the world.

Since Liza 1, ExxonMobil has made over 30 commercial discoveries in the Stabroek Block, with an estimated 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent in place. The company and its partners have sanctioned six development projects, four of which will be producing simultaneously by the end of 2025. Output is expected to be around 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) later this year. That is roughly one barrel per citizen per day, the highest per capita oil production in the world.

By 2028, two more floating production vessels will push output capacity to around 1.3 million bpd. Two additional projects being pursued for 2029 and 2030 will produce not just oil, but also gas and condensate, diversifying offshore production.

The Gas-to-Energy project could bring gas to shore by 2026. This infrastructure is expected to slash electricity costs by half, easing the cost of living and laying the groundwork for Guyana’s long-awaited industrial transformation.

The economic benefits are already visible. Oil revenues are surging, foreign investment is growing across multiple sectors, and Guyana’s global reputation has improved dramatically. European refiners are thirsty for Guyana’s oil, for which output ramped up at a time they needed a replacement for Russia’s crude. International institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), have praised Guyana for its management of the oil windfall and the impacts on the broader economy, even as domestic concerns about overheating and Dutch disease remain.

Importantly, the government has acted to protect local interests in the sector. Through the Local Content Act, Guyanese workers and businesses are legally guaranteed a fair share of jobs, contracts, training, and opportunities. The goal is to ensure that Guyana gets its fair share of the  oil wealth, building local capacity and a prosperous nation.

To be clear, the road ahead is long. Guyana still faces major challenges in improving infrastructure, quality of life, and meeting its energy transition and environmental protection goals. But the opportunity to succeed on all these fronts is greater now than ever before, and it all traces back to that one discovery in May 2015.

One well. One moment. A nation transformed.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.