Jagdeo warns of oil price volatility

Aug 30, 2025 News

…says only PPP can manage country’s development if crude prices drop

One of the FPSOs producing oil offshore Guyana

Kaieteur News – General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has warned that only the PPP can fulfill its development plans over the next five years if oil prices fall.

Speaking at his Thursday press conference at Freedom House, Jagdeo said that while Guyana’s oil and gas sector is expected to perform “well” in the coming years, its volatile nature poses risks. He argued that rival parties, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Alliance For Change (AFC), and We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), have failed to account for these risks and are instead banking almost entirely on oil revenues to fund their promises.

General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), Bharrat Jagdeo

Jagdeo had noted that opposition parties are not taking into consideration the volatility of oil prices. “Everyone only speaks about the upside. We are the only party that speaks about the balancing of risk that should oil prices move downwards, all of the promises made by the opposition, in fact none of them could be kept,” he said.

Jagdeo said that the PPP’s commitments remain viable even under less favorable conditions. “Our promises could be kept even with a moderation of international crisis because we have been at this before. We have the experience to navigate tough economic situations. We did so when the country was bankrupt and we brought it back to financial viability and we have already been speaking extensively about how we create a diversified economy that will generate thousands of higher paying new jobs in the non-oil sector as well as ensure greater long-term prosperity,” Jagdeo said.

He stressed that capable leadership is critical to steering Guyana’s economy amid potential risks. “It’s not simple. Our economy is going to do well in the oil and gas sector, but there’s a risk to it too,” he cautioned.

Further, Jagdeo noted that only the PPP has the experience and credibility to craft and implement sustainable development plans. “Our party stands ahead of all the other competitors in that regard. And so the people across this country would have experienced this. They would have seen this and they recognise that they’re not going to put their future at risk by taking chances on people who even don’t have a clear agenda for the future, who’ve been making just promises that, you know, will never be implemented,” he stated.

Currently, oil is only being produced from the Stabroek block, which is operated by American oil giant ExxonMobil. There are four developments Liza Phase 1, Liza Phase 2, Payara and Yellowtail, currently in production with a combined installed capacity to 900,000 barrels per day (bpd). In addition, Exxon has two other sanctioned projects under its belt: Uaru and Whiptail. It has also submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for its seventh project, Hammerhead, with production targeted for 2029.

Additionally, the company has filed an application for an eighth development, Longtail. By 2030, ExxonMobil Guyana expects to have total production capacity of 1.7 million oil equivalent barrels per day from eight developments.

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