Guyana could earn US$72.8B from oil & gas – Ali

– reiterates portion will go towards bettering lives of all Guyanese

With the possibility that Guyana could earn US$72.8 billion over the lifespan of oil production in Guyana’s waters, President Dr Irfaan Ali is reiterating his Government’s commitment to improving the lives of Guyanese.
During his new year message, President Ali cited the projections made by the World Bank on what Guyana’s earnings are expected to look like over the next decade of oil production. He pledged that Guyanese will benefit directly from the resources.
“You should recall that the World Bank has projected that over the lifespan of oil and gas production, Guyana could earn $72.8 billion in revenues from the multiple offshore projects that will be operational.”

“Surely, it is right that with full and adequate supervision by reputable persons nominated by Parliament and the Private Sector, a portion of those funds should be spent in improving the lives of the people of Guyana, all of them, and bettering the conditions of the lives in which they live,” President Ali said.
Over the past few years, the World Bank has generally made projections of Guyana’s economic growth that have been buoyed by the growing oil and gas sector. For instance, the Bank had projected last year that Guyana’s economy would grow by 20.9 per cent, outpacing other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
“I do not want a rich Guyana of poor people. Yes, Guyana must be rich so that never again should we be among the poorest in the world; never again should our poor have to be nomads, seeking survival in other parts of the world… But our people must share in the benefits of the wealth that is now Guyana’s – and share in it without fear or favour. It is the right of their birth and a right that has been earned by them and their fore-parents who toiled, sweated and sacrificed to make Guyana their beloved homeland,” the Head of State had noted in his message to the nation.
US oil giant ExxonMobil began producing oil on December 20, 2019, in the Stabroek Block. It has since made a slew of finds in the Stabroek Block, leading to Guyana’s rise as the world’s hottest new oil producer.
In October of last year, ExxonMobil made a find in the Cataback-1 well, which brings the total significant discoveries to more than 20 within the Stabroek Block. The Cataback-1 well, the oil company stated, encountered 243 feet (74 metres) of net pay in high quality hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone reservoirs. It is located approximately 3.7 miles (6 kilometres) east of Turbot-1, and was drilled in 5928 feet (1807 metres) of water by the Noble Tom Madden.
Then back in September 2021, the US oil giant announced that it found 220 feet (67 metres) of high-quality oil in the Pinktail well offshore Guyana. It was stated that the Pinktail discovery, which was drilled by the Noble Sam Croft drill ship, is 21.7 miles southeast of the Liza Phase 1 project.
Additionally, Exxon was able to successfully appraise the Turbot-1 and 2 wells, where oil was previously found. In the case of the Turbot-2 well, drilling encountered 43 feet (13 metres) of net pay, separate from the oil previously encountered in the Turbot-1 well.
Currently, there is over US$534 million is the NRF being held at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York. In August 2021, Guyana received payment for its seventh oil lift to the tune of US$79,617,561.87, the largest single oil payment the country has received to date.
The Natural Resources Ministry has stated that the aforementioned payment was for 1,047,820 barrels of oil, which was extracted from the Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel on July 3, 2021.
The seventh oil lift brings the country’s oil extraction to a grand total of 7,056,262 barrels, and accumulative earnings to US$388,777,840. Guyana received its first payment of US$54.9 million for an oil lift dated February 19, 2020. The second lift, on May 21, 2020, was valued at US$35 million; while the third lift, which occurred on August 9, 2020, was worth US$46 million.
The fourth lift of oil offshore Guyana occurred on December 9, 2020, and came in at US$49.4 million in value. And on February 5, 2021, some 997,420 barrels of oil were lifted from Liza Destiny. A sum of US$61 million was paid for that lift.
The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometres). Exxon, through subsidiary Esso Exploration Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), is the operator and holds 45 per cent interest in the Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30 per cent interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds the remaining 25 per cent interest.