Oil nations Qatar and Guyana strengthened relations with the signing of new agreements overseen by the Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Sept. 12.
This is the Emir’s first visit to Guyana. It comes after President Ali’s visit in May to commission the Qatari arm of Guyana’s embassy in the nation’s capital Doha.
According to Qatar News, the first agreement related to economic, commercial, and technical cooperation, the second on the promotion and protection of mutual investments, and the third was a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in legal fields.
Diplomatic relations between the two were established since 1996.
Qatar has been producing oil since 1949 which has been key in it being able to build a robust economy. And now, oil is changing the game for Guyana since the first find in 2015 and start of production in December 2019.
Back in October, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranked Guyana only second to Kuwait on the list of countries with the highest oil reserves per capita, ranking higher than Saudi Arabia, Norway and Qatar.
The IMF also has Guyana positioned at 9th on a list that ranks the present value of reserves owned by high-profile oil producers, as a percentage of their 2021 gross domestic product (GDP). In this regard, Guyana beats out Qatar, Oman and Algeria, but falls behind Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Libya, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Angola.
The country already has the 3rd highest reserves in Latin America – Caribbean Region, and more than 10% of the world’s conventional resource finds since 2015.
Qatar expressed interest in a direct partnership with Guyana to develop its oil blocks.
The Emir was accompanied by his Chief of the Amiri Dawan, l Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani; the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Saad bin Sherida Al Kabbi; the Minister of Commerce and Industry; Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Qassim Al Thani; the Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi and several other senior members of his Government.
Guyana is looking to learn from Qatar. Stretching just less than 4,500 square miles with a population of about 2.88 million people, it is the world’s second-largest exporter of natural gas. It also holds the third-largest proven natural gas reserves in the world and is also home to the world’s largest liquefied natural gas company, Qatargas.
Qatar has a well-established history of responsible energy stewardship. Shrewd governance has not only contributed to decades of sustainable growth but massive improvements in the standard of living for its people. And according to President Ali, Qatar is one of the nation’s Guyana will be using as its primary role models on how to craft its blueprint for effective oil and gas management.
