Guyana has been on the receiving end of unprecedented interest from foreign investors following the discovery of billions of barrels of hydrocarbon resources offshore and the country’s entry as a new oil producing nation. This is now seeing a range of companies, including those on the Fortune 500 list, look to the South American country as a prime location to invest.
In fact, U.S Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah Ann Lynch, has disclosed that she is receiving calls from a wide range of U.S companies about the investment opportunities in the country’s developing oil and gas industry on a daily basis. The Embassy plays an integral role with the U.S Department of Commerce, acting as the official middleman for U.S investors and Guyanese businesses, whether it is a local Guyanese company seeking to invest in the U.S or a U.S company seeking to invest in Guyana.
“From infrastructure to energy, from healthcare to agriculture, the future of U.S investment here in Guyana is just beginning,” the Ambassador told the second Annual General Meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Guyana on Friday, November 13.
According to the Ambassador, the amount of commercial interest from the U.S in Guyana is increasing exponentially. “I get calls from U.S companies on a daily basis. Just last week, I met with the Business Council for International Understanding–BCIU– a U.S based organisation founded under President Eisehower whose members include Fortune 500 companies, interested in what Guyana has to offer,” she shared.
The BCIU facilitates mutually beneficial, person-to-person relationships between business and government leaders worldwide. For businesses, it builds programmes that help member companies identify and capture growth opportunities in both established and emerging markets throughout the world.
“Among the areas that the companies’ representatives enquired on this call is a broad range of investment opportunities, including investment in the oil and gas sector, housing and urban development, environmental resiliency, satellite imagery and security services,” Ambassador Lynch told the American Chamber.
Meanwhile, Guyana’s Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh said that Guyana’s new status as an oil producer and exporter has generated unprecedented interest by American companies, not just in the oil and gas sector, but also across the entire spectrum of productive activity. “This is not surprising given the inevitable positive externalities that oil and gas production can bring to the rest of the economy,” he told participants.
Just last week, the country’s Minister of Natural Resources told this publication that investors are pouring in on a daily basis. OilNOW has also reported that a number of countries including Brazil, Australia, France, Qatar, Suriname and Russia have expressed interest in investing in the country or tapping into the oil and gas industry.
