The recent disclosure that companies in the United States and France are preparing to invest US$10 billion in oil recovery pursuits off the coast of Suriname point to the likelihood of the most dramatic shift in the collective economic fortunes of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) since the regional grouping was created just over half a century ago. If few people would have predicted that the predominantly English-speaking region with mostly agrarian economies would eventually benefit from a shift in their fortunes driven by oil and gas, the prospect of that reality would appear to be materializing as, first Trinidad and Tobago and most recently, Guyana moved to press their oil and gas resources into service to lay the foundation for economic transformation.