The recent spate of prolific discoveries in the Stabroek Block and the steady pace of Final Investment Decisions (FID) are positioning Guyana to reap the rewards of these finds with cumulative revenues totaling US$157 billion by 2040. This is according to independent research consultancy group, Rystad Energy.
In its latest analysis of one of the world’s fastest growing economies, Rystad Energy said its review of the revenue stream to come for Guyana is simply astounding.
Schreiner Parker, Senior Vice President and Head of Latin America and the Caribbean commented that Guyana is just starting to extract and monetise its vast resource wealth, adding that the coming years will be a financial windfall for the Georgetown government. “The country has played the long game after several decades of elusive exploration. But the country’s offshore production is finally ready to take off,” says Parker.
Exxon confirms 1.2 million barrels per day capacity for Guyana by 2027 | OilNOW
While Guyana is poised to enter the proverbial big league this year, Rystad still cautioned that the administration must not lose sight of the fact that managing these overwhelming resources may not be all plain sailing.
The Norwegian group said strong institutional governance, transparency and regulatory practices will be vital to unlocking the full potential of Guyana’s resource wealth for its society.
“Although the government has taken steps to improve governance, including establishing a sovereign wealth fund and improving fiscal policy transparency, there are still improvements to be made,” expressed the group.
As an example, Rystad Energy noted that the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which champions strong resource management and governance practices, recently found several weaknesses in Guyana’s company reporting and tax processes. However, their EITI score of 52 points will likely grow in the coming years as recent improvements take effect, the business intelligence group stated.
Guyana gets “fairly low overall score” in implementing 2019 EITI Standard | OilNOW
The EITI Board has since determined that Guyana will have until the next validation process commencing on April 1, 2024, to carry out 32 corrective actions to improve its score.
On Tuesday, ExxonMobil announced two more discoveries offshore Guyana, bringing the total oil strikes made since 2015 to 33, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.
