Former U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo charged stakeholders at the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo to put priority on ensuring the South American nation realizes its potential.
In a video message, Pompeo said, “We have to ensure that Guyana has the tools and security it needs to fulfill its potential as a truly massive producer of energy. It is of paramount importance.”
Pompeo underscored the importance of energy to national security and prosperity and emphasized that countries like Guyana and America can produce and export “affordable energy” around the world.
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He mentioned that as Secretary of State, “There were very few meetings I ever held with Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Foreign Ministers, in which energy was not a primary topic of conversation.”
Pompeo pointed out that countries like Russia and Iran weaponize energy for their own agenda and said that it is likely that Venezuela might follow suit.
To this end, Pompeo implored that in the case of Guyana, this cannot be allowed to happen.
“Guyana’s energy, your natural resources, your innovation in the energy space, all that will deliver security to Guyanese people, just as was the case for the American energy sector,” he said.
The South American country has been producing oil since 2019 and currently holds around 11 billion oil-equivalent barrels. Its gas reserves stand at approximately 17 trillion cubic feet.
Ahead of veterans like Norway and Mexico, Guyana is projected to become the world’s fourth-largest oil producer by 2035.
