‘Oil boom’ is transforming the country [Guyana] into “a potential player in global geopolitics”, according to an editorial published in the Thursday September 19 issue of the Jamaica Observer, one of the two leading newspapers in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member country. “It is a wonder to behold, and we are quite pleased to see it, how Guyana’s oil boom is transforming the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member on the South American coast into a potential player in global geopolitics,” The Observer trumpeted in its issue a day ago.
“The attention being attracted by the previously poor Third World country is underlined by an estimated 15 billion litres of oil off its coast, which when realized, will make Guyana Latin America’s third-largest oil producer after Brazil and Mexico,” The Observer beamed, reflecting a sense of pride over the good fortune of a sister CARICOM member country.
Pointing to the attention now being attracted by a country that once possessed no more than an average economic rating by South American standards, The Observer declared that “It is noteworthy that last year the United States Secretary of State Mr. Antony Blinken — representing the world’s most powerful economy — visited Guyana, and China’s President Xi Jinping, from the second-largest economy, invited President Irfaan Ali to China, calling for a partnership ‘on an equal footing.’”
Here, in the Caribbean too, the investment-related attractions which oil-producing Guyana now offers countries across the world makes the country a global attraction for potential investors, drawing attention to the country’s annual investment-related gatherings across the Caribbean and attracting the interest from delegations from distant regions including Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The Observer attributes the new-found global interest in Guyana to what it says is “the bright economic outlook for Guyana in the near-term” as responsible for the heightened interest in the country.
Meanwhile, the Observer editorial notes that while Guyana is currently producing 650,000 barrels of oil per day, in partnership with ExxonMobil, “the country is expected within the next three years to rival Qatar’s production levels, according to the respected NZZ, which publishes out of Zurich, Switzerland.” The Observer editorial also noted that Guyana’s oil discovery had “triggered a scramble for influence, as neighbouring countries, regional powers and global players all vie for a stake in Guyana’s future.” That said, however, it asserted that the country “has ambitions of its own, aiming to secure a seat at the table of global geopolitics.”
Significantly, the Observer editorial noted that “neighbouring Venezuela has revived old claims to two-thirds of Guyana,” asserting that “while the tension has subsided, that conflict has not yet been resolved.” The Observer editorial alludes to its belief that Venezuela’s territorial claim “could potentially explode into a broader geopolitical issue, especially given Russia’s heavy support for the Caracas regime” which, it says, includes “military aid and security consultation.” Jamaica is a long-standing member of CARICOM having ‘sat at the table’ from the inception of the regional movement and has remained unambiguous and forthright in its support for the preservation of Guyana’s territorial integrity.
