Government, Opposition spar over oil money

Jul 11, 2025 News

…Mahipaul says inflows can fund Guyana’s development needs

…Jagdeo disagrees, says oil prices can fall

Government and Opposition spar over oil money

PPP/C General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo

Kaieteur News – Vice President and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Bharrat Jagdeo, has labeled the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Coalition’s plans as “unsustainable promises” and poured cold water on Ganesh Mahipaul’s recent declaration that the current inflows from oil can fund this country’s development.

At his party’s press conference held at Freedom House on Thursday, Jagdeo responded to Mahipaul who is APNU’s Vice Presidential candidate. At APNU’s election campaign launch, Mahipaul said that oil revenues alone could fund the party’s vision for Guyana.

Mahipaul asserted that Guyana’s oil earnings would be more than sufficient to finance the coalition’s development plans and accused the incumbent PPP/C government of being “deceitful” and “out of touch” with the needs of ordinary Guyanese.

In his response, Jagdeo said, “They are very extravagant on promises… So, I think they believe that you can just go to a platform and everyone says something and it sounds good and people will buy into it and then oh should we succeed in…they will have to implement it… they’ll forget about it like we they forgot about 2015 promises that were made to everyone.”

Mahipaul contended that revenues from ExxonMobil Guyana Limited’s operations in the offshore Stabroek Block would be sufficient to finance APNU’s proposed initiatives. He pointed to the current oil production supported by Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels and projected significant increases in the coming years.

APNU’s Vice Presidential Candidate, Ganesh Mahipaul

“Our country has [three] FPSOs functioning… for those who don’t know, FPSO is a big ship [that] can give you so much money. In the next two years, we will have two more, and before the five years, we will have 10 in total,” Mahipaul said.

“So if [three] is giving us so much, imagine what 10 would give… That is why the plan that Aubrey Norton has, the plan that Juretha [Fernandes] has, the plan that the APNU has, it can be financed by oil alone,” he added.

Guyana earned nearly US$2.6 billion in oil revenues last year, which included income from oil sales and royalties. Currently, three sanctioned projects Liza Phase 1, Liza Phase 2, and Payara are producing over 650,000 barrels per day (bpd). ExxonMobil has received approval for three more projects that are expected to come onstream before the end of the decade. The company has also applied for approval of two additional developments in the Stabroek Block.

In response to Mahipaul’s claim that 10 FPSOs would generate double the revenue and allow for widespread spending, Jagdeo warned of the risks of relying solely on oil. “So, what if oil prices fall, say next year or this year?” he questioned. He added, “What are they going to do if you base the implementation of your promises only on oil money? So what happens when it goes?”

Jagdeo reminded that in early 2015, oil prices plunged from US$120 per barrel to US$30. He reasoned, “So, if oil prices oil prices were US$100, it went to US$80, dropped to US$60 now or somewhere there. What if it falls to US$30 for 2 years? That’s US$30, a situation which [has] happened before. It’s not an unusual thing.” Jagdeo maintained that national plans should not be based on something as volatile as oil prices.

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Bharrat Jagdeo, Ganesh Mahipaul, Guyana Elections, Guyana Oil

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