President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali today said Guyana must leverage its rapidly expanding oil and gas sector to secure long-term sustainability. He was at the time delivering the feature address at the opening of the country’s 5th Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Georgetown.
The conference is being held under the theme ‘Building Tomorrow’s Future Today’.
“Tomorrow’s future will and must be built today,” Ali told delegates. “That is why this energy conference is about that partnership.”
Ali said Guyana’s development strategy goes beyond national boundaries. “We are not just building in Guyana. We are building for a sustainable future,” he added.
The Guyanese Head of State said momentum in a national context requires multiple inputs. “It is people, it is technology, it is capital, it is partnership, but importantly, it is ideas,” he stated.
Ali referenced a real-time survey conducted among participants. He said 65% of respondents believe the world is not going in the right direction, while 90.22% believe Guyana is heading in the right direction.
On global challenges, he cited the cost of living, conflict, and climate change as leading concerns among respondents. In Guyana, he said labor shortage, technology deficit, and climate change were identified as the top issues.
Ali said addressing these challenges requires energy transformation. “Technology requires energy. Food requires energy transformation. Economic transformation requires energy,” he outlined.
He said the first step is to capitalize on the oil and gas sector. Ali also said that sustainability is not driven by expenditure alone, noting “…it is achieved by spending plus strategic alliances, integration, partnership, [and] understanding what are the sectors that will lead to long term sustainability”.
Ali outlined plans for major infrastructure investments, including a deep-water port linked to Brazil and the wider region. He said the objective is to position Guyana as a logistics hub. He also pointed to value addition in natural resources.
For Guyana, the President said the preferred path is clear: “Utilizing the energy advantage to create value that will enhance the economy, diversify the economy, and…structurally integrate our economy with the rest of the global system.”
Guyana’s oil success is driven by ExxonMobil and its co-venturers in the Stabroek Block, Hess and CNOOC. With over 50 discoveries logged and a resource count of 11 billion barrels, Guyana has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Currently, production is over 800,000 barrels per day from four developments.
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ExxonMobil has even more in tow and Guyana is expected to hit over a million barrels per day by next year.
