Guyana’s oil and gas sector has become one of the best-managed among new petroleum-producing nations, owing to transparent governance, decisive leadership and a deliberate strategy to ensure oil wealth benefits every Guyanese.
This is according to Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat, who was at the time speaking on the Starting Point podcast on Sunday.
Minister Bharrat added that while Guyana’s petroleum sector has recorded unprecedented growth over the past five years, the government’s greatest responsibility has been managing the sector prudently while meeting the growing expectations of citizens.
He noted that Guyana’s daily oil production has increased from approximately 80,000 barrels in 2020 to more than 900,000 barrels today, with another floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel expected to arrive shortly and two more currently under construction.
Despite this rapid expansion, the minister said the government has maintained strong systems of transparency and accountability, making production figures, petroleum licences, environmental permits and oil revenues publicly accessible.
The minister said transparency has allowed Guyanese to follow developments in the sector closely, contributing to higher public expectations as citizens witness unprecedented economic growth and expanded development across the country.
He explained that the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Administration continues to utilise petroleum revenues to fulfil commitments made to the Guyanese people, while investing heavily in infrastructure, education, housing, employment and business development.
Responding to criticism from the political opposition, Minister Bharrat maintained that the true measure of the sector’s success lies in the thousands of Guyanese directly benefitting from the industry.
“When we have 7,000 Guyanese trained and employed in the oil and gas sector, that is 7,000 families putting up their hands and saying, ‘I have benefitted from the oil and gas sector’,” the minister stated. “When you look at the development taking place in Guyana, in real estate, manufacturing and construction…it is basically a spin-off from what is happening in the oil and gas sector.”
The natural resources minister further noted that the government has reduced taxes while increasing national revenue through economic expansion rather than higher taxation.
He said this demonstrates that prudent management of Guyana’s petroleum resources is driving broad-based economic growth and creating opportunities for citizens countywide.