Fueled by oil revenue, Guyana’s economy is set to reach that of its CARICOM neighbor – Trinidad and Tobago – by the mid-2020s. This is the view of the twin island republic’s former Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs, Kevin Ramnarine.
Speaking on a live televised programme aired on Trinidad’s CNC3 on Monday, Ramnarine told host Hema Ramkissoon that the South American country’s new found oil wealth will fuel tremendous economic growth and opportunities. “I think the Guyanese economy is probably going to reach the size of the Trinidadian economy by…maybe the mid-2020s with half the population that we have,” he pointed out, noting Guyana’s 760,000 people against the twin island’s 1.3 million.
The former Energy Minister expects significant transformation to take place in Guyana – one of the founding members of CARICOM – although what this ultimately means for Trinidad and the region is still a matter of close study. “So you’re looking at a tremendous transformation in one of CARICOM’s members in the next 6 to 7 years and what does that mean for Trinidad, what does that mean for the region; those are questions that have to be answered,” he said.
Significant interest has been shown by a number of Trinidadian companies in Guyana’s emerging petroleum sector with several trade missions occurring in recent months and the establishment of a number of joint ventures.
“Trinidad has a very strong energy services sector and naturally you would expect that there would be synergies…and already some Trinidadian companies are already pitching their tent in Guyana. So it is exciting times. We are looking at probably Guyanese government revenue increasing by a factor of 6 in the next 6 to 7 years which is a significant increase in government revenue,” he pointed out.
US oil major ExxonMobil has so far made an unprecedented 7 discoveries off the coast of Guyana in just over two years, five of which amounts to an estimated 3.2 billion barrels of oil. Assessments are ongoing for the most recent oil finds at the Pacora and Ranger reservoirs which will push the total recoverable reserves significantly higher.
Oil production will get underway in March of 2020.
