Reprinted from Trinidad Guardian Thursday August 25, 2022
Last week, I sat down with the President of Guyana Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali to discuss, among other things, the challenge his country is sure to face in managing the inflow of large amounts of US dollars from the massive discoveries that have so far, and I stress on so far, been made by US energy giant Exxon.
Even with a less than satisfactory deal with the US major, the size and frequency of the discoveries are such that it is very difficult to comprehend the extent of resources that will be coming the way of Guyana, which for many years was one of the weakest economies in the region.
By most estimation, by the end of the decade, Guyana will be producing close to a million barrels of oil per day. It will likely receive between US$8 and $10 billion a year in revenue from the oil sector alone and when you add the rest of the economic activity that is sure to be driven by this new found wealth, Guyana’s annual earnings could be twice that of T&T.