With the price of brent crude hovering around US$100 per barrel, Guyana’s petroleum sector is driving Guyana’s economic trajectory forward. The country’s mid-year economic report revealed that the economy has grown by 36.4%, with the non-oil economy growing by 8.3%.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts by the end of 2022, total growth will be 57%. The immense growth can be attributed to Guyana’s newest FPSO, the Liza Unity, operating at peak production and exceeding previous estimates of daily oil output.

Activities offshore have been dominated by the Stabroek Block partners – ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC – which is the only group yet to begin production in Guyana.

The efforts of other consortiums to find oil have been less successful. In their recent drill campaign of the Beebei-Potaro-1 well, the Kanuku Block Co-venturers (Repsol, Tullow, Total and Qatar Petroleum) discovered a water bearing find, rendering it non-commercial. The companies have made the decision to abandon the well and are strategising on their next steps.

While the Gas to Energy project has attracted much attention in Region 3, the Government of Guyana signalled its interest in establishing a domestic oil refinery designated for Region 6. Tenders have opened to contractors to submit proposals for the design and finance of a 30,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery. The selected contractor for this project will benefit from considerable fiscal incentives.