Take aways from the 2023 International Energy Conference & Expo, Guyana

Dear Editor,
The International Energy Conference & Expo Guyana 2023 concluded yesterday at the Marriott Hotel in Georgetown. Without any doubt, the conference was a success, and congratulations are in order for Anthony J Whyte and Kurt Baboolall, Chairman, and CEO of the conference, respectively.
The Conference was graced by several regional leaders including President Santokhi of Suriname (virtual presentation), Dr Keith Rowley of Trinidad, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Iván Duque Márquez, former President of Colombia.
Among the plethora of themes and lines of discussion at the conference, two salient points need to be highlighted. The first is internal and concerns the domestic macro-economic fundamentals of the Guyanese economy. On this score, participants were able to clearly see continuity and stability in the current Administration’s monetary and fiscal policies. Of particular significance is the budgetary commitments to infrastructure geared towards oil and gas and beyond. Key Administration officials, including President Ali, Vice President Jagdeo, Prime Minister Mark Phillips, and Finance Minister Ashni Singh, emphasised the need to continue with an aggressive capital expenditure programme in order to put in place the requisite roads, bridges, ports, air transport facilities, and so on, necessary for the oil and gas sector, as well both hard and soft infrastructure in agriculture, tourism, housing, education, and healthcare.
It must be noted that continuity here refers to the current Administration adhering to its election manifesto since coming into office in August 2020. Compared to the APNU/AFC, there is actually a major shift. In 2019, for instance, the APNU/AFC committed only 22.7% to capital expenditure, with 77% going to current expenditures (or consumption). By contrast the 2023 budget has committed 49.6% to capital expenditure, with 50.4% dedicated to current expenditure.
The second major development was the strong investor confidence not only for the oil and gas sector, but for other areas of economic “take-off”. Speaker after speaker noted that “all eyes are on Guyana”. Among them were John Hess (CEO, Hess Corp), Liam Mallon (ExxonMobil Upstream Company), Alistair Routledge (President, ExxonMobil, Guyana), Liu Xiaoxiang (President of CNOOC), Jon Charles Rhodes (Guyana Country Director, Baker Hughes), Dr Pryia Marajh (Board Director, Touchstone Exploration), Orlando C Segovia (CEO, Frontera Energy), and among others, Dr Thackwray Driver (President & CEO, The Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago).
UK High Commissioner to Guyana Jane Miller, The World Bank Representative for Guyana and Suriname, Diletta Doretti, and NYU Professor Amy M Jaffe, also spoke about the configuration of global, regional, and domestic factors propelling Guyana forward.
Just as important, a slew of speakers from the Guyanese business community such as Lars Mangal and Nicholas Deygoo, and heads of agencies and other high offices including Dr Mahender Sharma, Dr Peter Ramsaroop, Pradeepa Bholanauth, Shyam Nokta, Dr Paulette Bynoe, Dr Natasha Gaskin-Peters, and Rabin Chandrapal, spoke to the gathering momentum of the Guyanese economy. Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat provided a detailed nuts-and-bolts overview of where things stand, and where they are heading in the O&G sector.
One of the key areas of focus at the conference was the skills shortage in the country and the massive opportunities now open to the younger generation of Guyanese. Quite fittingly, the closing session yesterday was a “Youth Engagement Forum” which saw students from Queen’s College, Anna Regina Secondary, and SVN Secondary (from Cornelia Ida, WCD) in the audience. They were meaningfully engaged by a selection of Guyana’s best and brightest of the younger generation – Joel Bhagwandin, Dr Rosh Khan, Grace Huston, and Leonard Hoppie.
Two further observations are in order. Firstly, President Ali was emphatic that a new global coalition is needed to meet the challenges of climate change, food security, and energy security. He warned against “self-righteous” attempts intended to stifle economic development in the small and developing economies of the Global South.
Secondly, Vice President Jagdeo was insistent that oil and gas development allows for a win-win between the oil majors and the people of Guyana. He was clear that future contracts in hydrocarbons will not repeat the mistakes made by the APNU/AFC in 2016. Jagdeo noted that future oil contracts will have a minimum of 10% royalties (compared to the current 2%), a reduction in cost recovery to 65% from the current 75%, and an equal split in profit oil. He noted that the local content legislation has managed to claw-back (from EEPGL) benefits to Guyanese contractors and workers, and this, despite stiff resistance from EEPGL when that body of legislation was first articulated.
The week-long 2023 International Energy Conference & Expo in Guyana was a raving success. It brough Government leaders, investors, suppliers, contractors and vendors, academics, youths, and the general public into sustained, face-to-face conversations, about the economic developments and opportunities in Guyana.

Sincerely,
Dr Randolph Persaud