GUYANA’S greatest challenge is not producing oil, but ensuring its petroleum wealth does not leave the country vulnerable to Dutch disease, according to Senior Petroleum Coordinator at the Ministry of Natural Resources, Dr Bobby Gossai Jnr.

Speaking on the Energy Perspectives podcast recently, Gossai said the Government’s economic strategy is focused on preventing the country from becoming overly dependent on hydrocarbons by aggressively expanding the non-oil economy.

“The non-oil sector is where we are putting our efforts into,” he said, adding that Government programmes are designed to ensure Guyana is not “susceptible to Dutch disease”.

Dutch disease is an economic phenomenon in which a booming natural resource sector drives growth while weakening other industries, making the broader economy increasingly dependent on a single commodity.

For him, avoiding that outcome requires treating oil as a means to an end rather than the destination itself.

“Whilst we’re getting a lot from oil, oil is not the end product.”

Instead, he said, petroleum revenues should finance the transformation of Guyana’s wider economy.

“The hydrocarbon sector is not what we will depend on. It is the catalyst. It is the sector that will give us the momentum, the drive and the resources to be able to expand.”

The Senior Petroleum Coordinator said that expansion is already being directed towards sectors including agriculture, tourism, housing, infrastructure, manufacturing and information and communications technology, as well as emerging industries such as the blue economy, orange economy and artificial intelligence.

His remarks come as Guyana continues to experience one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, fuelled by offshore oil production that has risen from first oil in December 2019 to more than 900,000 barrels per day by the end of 2025.

Guyana’s oil production is set to exceed 1 million barrels per day following the recent arrival of the Errea Wittu floating production vessel, which adds 250,000 barrels of daily capacity to the country’s existing offshore operations.

While the petroleum sector has generated unprecedented revenues, Gossai argued that the real measure of success will be whether Guyana builds productive industries that can outlast its finite oil reserves.

He said, “We will use it as the pillar of growth and development.”

He also pointed to the International Monetary Fund’s preliminary Article IV assessment, noting that it recognised the Government’s efforts to strengthen the non-oil economy while managing petroleum revenues responsibly.

According to him, prudent management remains essential because oil markets are inherently unpredictable.

“The oil and gas sector is a very volatile industry,” he said, referencing the collapse in oil prices during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the impact geopolitical events can have on global energy markets.

Beyond fiscal management, he identified natural gas development as Guyana’s greatest economic opportunity over the next decade, describing it as the bridge between petroleum production and industrialisation.

He said the government’s gas-to-energy project is intended to deliver cheaper, more reliable electricity while laying the foundation for downstream industries including gas bottling, ammonia and urea production, petrochemicals and advanced manufacturing.

“We are effectively looking to develop our energy industry that can take us into industrialisation,” Gossai said.

That industrial push, he added, could allow Guyana to manufacture products it currently imports and eventually compete in regional and international markets.

Despite his central role in Guyana’s petroleum sector, the Senior Petroleum Coordinator named agriculture as the industry outside oil that excites him most, describing it as vital to the country’s long-term resilience.

Ultimately, he said, Guyana’s petroleum era will only be judged a success if oil wealth creates a diversified economy rather than a permanent dependence on hydrocarbons.

“The hydrocarbon sector is not what we will depend on,” Gossai reiterated. “It is the catalyst.”