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‘Guyana being fooled on true oil reserves’ – Former Finance Minister Jordan
…believes true figure “double or triple” 11.6 billion barrels touted by Govt.
Former Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan
Kaieteur News – Former Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan believes the Stabroek Block oil reserves is far more oil than the 11.6 billion barrels announced.
Jordan, who served under the previous APNU+AFC coalition government from 2015 to 2020, appeared on Sunday as a guest on “The Countdown” hosted by Andrew Weekes.
The former minister said that even at the current pace of extraction by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), he believes there is enough oil to last another 30 to 40 years.
The question of Guyana’s true reserves gained attention in 2024. That August, the Ministry of Natural Resources announced that reserves grew by 600 million barrels to 11.6 billion, following eight new discoveries since the last update in April 2022. But Exxon disputed the government’s figure, providing its own lower estimate of below 11 billion barrels.
“I believe quite honestly that we are being fooled and we are doing nothing about it, about how much oil has really been discovered,” Jordan said, citing the last eight new discoveries made by the oil company.
He argued that there has been a blackout on information about the true estimate of Guyana’s oil finds. “All those 11.6 billion barrels that they are telling us I believe it is double or triple that. So, we got oil that could last us 40 years or 50 years even at the present extraction,” Jordan noted.
Jordan further estimated that at a conservative US$60 per barrel, Guyana stands to earn massive revenues. “That’s huge money coming to a small country in terms of population, 10 years’ time with good investment and all these things, all of us here could be not super rich but we should have a decent standard living,” he added.
The Stabroek Block
Oil was discovered offshore Guyana in 2015 and by December 2019, production commenced. Exxon has already received government approval for six developments in the Stabroek Block. The first four are in operation, producing an average of 650,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) with an installed capacity of 900,000 bpd.
The company has also submitted applications for a seventh project, Hammerhead, and an eighth, Longtail. The company is aiming to bring all eight developments into production by the end of the decade, with a combined target of 1.7 million bpd.
Following the disclosure by government that the Stabroek Block oil reserves grew to 11.6 billion barrels, EMGL came out disputing the figures released by government, providing its own resource estimate.
The company’s country manager, Alistair Routledge at a press conference last year said the Stabroek Block reserves are less than 11 billion barrels.
Routledge was asked how many of the eight discoveries were appraised for the company to arrive at the new resource estimate of 11.6 billion barrels. He explained, “The government released a number of 11.6 billion oil equivalent barrels, ExxonMobil’s estimate is lower than that number…our number remains a little under 11 billion oil equivalent barrels.” Furthermore, he noted that the company is obligated to make such reports to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, making the point that Exxon was not keeping the figures away.
Explaining the variation between Exxon’s figures compared to the reserves announced by government, Routledge noted that the state conducts independent studies, although it is supplied with data by the company. “They also do independent studies (and) verifications with other consultants and the work that they do themselves and the GGMC and Ministry of Natural Resources so it’s quite normal to have a slightly different view of the number,” he reasoned.
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Per location of Guyana, we are LOWER than Trinidad and Venezuela. That
means, Guyana’s oil basins are draining oil from Trinidad and Venezuela.
That is not science- it’s just a practicality. When rain falls, runoff will “pool”
from higher ground to low areas- and flooding, with rivers, streams etc.
draining much of the runoff. With the extraction of oil, the more taken out,
the more the “pond” refills.
I watched the gutters on my home drains when it rains- because it is installed
that way- tilted slightly for runoffs. So, former minister Jordan may be right.