How the billion barrels improved Guyanese lives

Dear Editor,

The announcement of Guyana’s billionth barrel of oil produced is being touted as a milestone. Indeed, it is.

First oil came in December 2019. Today, production has moved to almost 1 million barrels a day, crude oil exports have reached US$15 billion in the first half of 2026, while petroleum revenues are expected to approach US$6.5 billion for the year. Very big numbers, for little Guyana. However, seven years after first oil, the more important question is not how much oil we have produced but what that wealth has actually done for Guyanese and whether Guyana has a clear plan for where the next billion barrels should take the country.

Daily, the government would post big fancy numbers about economic growth. What we saw in government’s Mid-Year report^[1] is that the economy grew by 33.3 percent in the first half of 2026, while the non-oil economy grew by 10.1 percent. However, growth in the national accounts must be contrasted against the experience of Guyanese families daily.

As we look at those numbers, we must also pay attention to numbers, that show by how much consumer prices have increased. 4.4 percent in the first half of this year alone. As of last month, September, food prices were still 4.4 percent higher than a year earlier, transport and communication 4.1 percent higher, medical care 3.1 percent higher and miscellaneous goods and services 6.6 percent higher.

The real question Guyanese want an answer to is, of the billions being generated by oil, how does that translate into a sufficiently better standard of living for me?

The underlying weakness to that enquiry is not that Guyana lacks projects. It is that we lack a clearly articulated national development strategy into which those projects fit so as to show a sufficiently better standard of living.

Oil wealth should be the means by which Guyana builds an economy capable of standing when oil production eventually declines or prices drastically change. Guyanese can rest assure, it will. That then means we should see more deliberate investing in agriculture, manufacturing, education, health, housing, infrastructure, energy, technology, small business and Guyanese ownership. We cannot continue announcing projects as opportunities arise and then attempt to construct a national development philosophy around them. The national priorities must come first and the oil wealth must be directed towards achieving those priorities.

The Gas to Energy project^[2] demonstrates the danger of proceeding without that discipline. Guyanese were promised 300 megawatts of cheaper and more reliable electricity, originally expected around 2024. The project has been delayed, with full capacity now expected much later, while the original US$759 million contract has already increased significantly, alongside further financial demands and disputes. This is not just a construction problem. It is a question of how responsibly we are converting an exhaustible national resource into lasting national benefit. Oil money must not become a source of funding for weak project management, escalating costs and delays. The test is not how much we spend. The test is whether Guyanese receive the cheaper, more reliable electricity they were promised.

Guyanese must also examine how the wealth itself is being managed and distributed. Guyana is now producing and exporting oil on a scale that would have been unimaginable in generation gone by. However, the success of an oil economy cannot be measured only by the size of government revenue or the number of billions deposited into the Natural Resource Fund^[3]. The real measure is what those billions leave behind. Are we building productive industries? Are we creating skilled Guyanese workers? Are we increasing Guyanese ownership? Are we improving the quality of education and healthcare? Are we building infrastructure that will serve the country long after the oil declines? The Natural Resource Fund should ultimately be judged by the lasting national assets and opportunities created from the wealth it holds.

ExxonMobil has a clear commercial strategy for Guyana.^[4] It moved from discovery to first oil, expanded from one producing vessel to several, increased production beyond 900,000 barrels a day and has already mapped out further developments. The company knows where it wants its next billion barrels to take its business. Guyana must demonstrate that same clarity about where its next billion barrels will take the country. Guyanese need a long term national framework that determines how oil revenues are to be saved, invested and used to transform the productive economy, with clear priorities extending beyond the life of the petroleum sector.

The billionth barrel therefore should be more than a celebration for ExxonMobil and a major milestone for Guyana. It should be a moment of national reflection. Guyanese can acknowledge the jobs, investment and economic activities created by the petroleum sector while demanding greater accountability, stronger cost control, better project management, greater transparency and a coherent national development strategy.

The first billion barrels have made Guyana richer. The responsibility now is to make Guyanese feel richer and stronger. If the wealth beneath our waters does not produce a better life above them, then we have measured the success of the oil economy by the wrong standard.

References

1. Press Release: Guyana's economy grew 33.3 percent in first ... — dpi.gov.gy ↩
2. Completion of gas to energy plant further delayed - Stabroek News — www.stabroeknews.com ↩
3. Press Release: Natural Resource Fund Annual Report 2025 presented to Parliament – Department of Public Information, Guyana — dpi.gov.gy ↩
4. One billion barrels: Guyana's remarkable journey continues | ExxonMobil — corporate.exxonmobil.com ↩