Guyana has been praised for having a stable environment for investment, but S&P Global Vice President, Daniel Yergin, took it a step further; branding it “the gold standard.”
Appearing virtually at Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo on Feb. 19, Yergin reminded that globally, competition remains high for oil and gas investments. But Guyana continues to stand out as a prime destination.
“Guyana really sets the gold standard for stable policy to enable to attract high-quality investments,” he said.
A true testament to this was the Guyana government’s firm position to not renegotiate the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) it has with ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC.
The PSA has faced significant scrutiny locally, with critics saying it is more favorable to Exxon and its co-venturers than to the country, while some analysts have said it is on par with other emerging oil and gas countries. The Guyana government has said that it will respect the sanctity of the contract as a show of good faith to investors. The contract is seen as critical to Guyana’s economic future, with the country projected to become the world’s largest per capita oil producer in the next few years, and an important source of oil supply to the global market.
Guyana has received more than US$3 billion in direct revenues since oil production began, as a result of the terms of the contract.
The local content legislation in place has also secured more than US$1.4 billion for Guyanese nationals and firms in 2022 and 2023. And the oil operations have kicked off a larger economic boom, which is having an unprecedented impact on many of the country’s non-oil sectors.
