Guyana’s turning point in its development

Jul 23, 2018 Letters

Dear Editor,
Guyana is at a turning point of its economic fortunes. It is currently poised to become one of the leading oil producing nations in this part of the hemisphere with projections set to exceed, and in some cases quadruple the production capacity of other frontier oil producing countries.
Bloomberg describes Guyana’s oil wells as “The world’s hottest offshore prospect” while experts have referred to them as “the world’s biggest deep water find in a decade.” Notable also is the fact that we currently have the highest barrel of oil per capita in the world.
And make no mistake, technical personnel, investors and other stakeholders from the Caribbean, the diaspora and worldwide are keeping up-to-date with these figures even as Exxon continues to make new discoveries in 2018. Many on the outside have recognized the opportunities associated with a find of this magnitude and have been flocking the scene for the past two years.
Interestingly though, a large fraction of the Guyanese public (the main beneficiaries of this fortune), continue to be oblivious to the opportunities oil brings to their doors, while others consider developments in the Oil & Gas sector to be a highly technical area beyond their ability to comprehend or are simply not that interested.
Ironically, these are the ones who look favorably at the progress made by other oil producing countries who have managed to transform their economies, and dare to make comparisons between conditions in Guyana and these nations.
As a matter of fact, in many cases we have seen migration of Guyanese to some of these countries, and these new ‘citizens’ have become contributors to the development of their new country of residence.
So what is it that causes us to glorify the achievements of other countries while disregarding our own? Is it a lack of interest in the new sector? Is it misinformation peddled about the sector or Guyana’s revenue share? Is it an inherent propensity to downplay anything local, or does the oil just seem brighter on the other side of the well?
Regards,
Andrew McBean

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