The Guyana government can legally withdraw about US$2.37 billion (GY$495 billion) from its oil fund in 2026 to support its national budget, a slight decline from the amount available last year, after lower oil revenues flowed into the account in 2025.
Under Guyana’s Natural Resource Fund (NRF) law, the amount the government may withdraw in any year is determined by a tiered formula applied only to deposits made in the preceding year, a mechanism designed to preserve savings accumulated in earlier years.
Applying the rule to US$2.47 billion deposited into the NRF in 2025 yields a maximum allowable withdrawal of about US$2.374 billion for 2026, roughly US$89 million less than what was legally available to finance the 2025 budget. The legally allowable sum amounts to 96% of the deposits made into the fund last year, and 73% of the US$3.25 billion the fund held at the end of December.
The withdrawal formula allows the government to take 100% of the first US$1 billion deposited in the prior year, 95% of the second US$1 billion, 90% of the third US$1 billion, with progressively smaller percentages applied to additional tiers, falling to 10% on amounts above US$5 billion.
Since Guyana began spending oil revenues in 2022, the government has consistently sought the maximum amount permitted by law, and even amended the NRF legislation in 2024 to let it withdraw a higher share. The overhaul also established a board of directors to oversee the fund.
Annual withdrawals have risen sharply since spending began, quadrupling from US$607 million in 2022 to US$2.463 billion in 2025, an average increase of about 60% per year, driven by rapidly expanding offshore oil production.
The slight reduction in the 2026 allowance reflects lower oil revenues in 2025 compared with 2024, illustrating how global oil price movements can affect the amount of cash available to support government spending, even as offshore oil production continues to climb.
Revenue paid into the NRF has come from oil sales and royalties, though the fund also began receiving signature bonus payments in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Guyana’s National Assembly is expected to debate the 2026 budget in the first quarter of the year, including the government’s expected withdrawal proposal for the NRF. If approved, the funds will be transferred to the Consolidated Fund, the government’s main bank account, in multiple tranches over the course of the year, as has occurred previously.
All of Guyana’s oil production currently comes from the ExxonMobil-operated Stabroek Block, where output capacity now exceeds 900,000 barrels per day, placing the country among the world’s fastest growing oil producers.
