The Guyana government has withdrawn US$3.195 billion (GY$666 billion) from the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) to date, the Bank of Guyana said in a report. This sum covers three years of spending – 2022 to 2024.
The government started spending from the Fund after changing the law in December 2021. Three rules governed how money was withdrawn from the Fund during that period.
In 2022, the government took US$607 million (GY$127 billion); all of the money in the Fund as of the end of December 2021. The Fund had a rule to calculate withdrawals based on deposits from the preceding year, but the law made an exception for the first year of spending.
In 2023, the government took US$1.002 (GY$208.9 billion); 98% of the revenue put into the Fund in 2022. This paid for 27% of the 2023 budget.
In 2024, US$1.586 billion (GY$331 billion) was withdrawn from the Fund after the government amended the rule, allowing for a larger withdrawal from the Fund at once. This money accounted for 29% of the 2024 budget.
In 2025, US$2.463 billion (GY$513 billion) of the Fund will go to the budget. This increases the total withdrawals to US$5.658 billion (GY$1.18 trillion). By the end of the year, withdrawals from the Fund will account for 94% of the US$6.049 billion (GY$1.26 trillion) Guyana has received from oil sales and royalties as of December 2024. Savings from the same period therefore amount to approximately US$391 million, plus interest income.
All money deposited into the Fund comes from crude oil production at the Stabroek Block. ExxonMobil controls 45% of the block; Hess has 30% and CNOOC has 25%. ExxonMobil produces 650,000 barrels per day (b/d) and is due to increase this to more than 1.3 million b/d by 2028.
