Guyana is Diversifying Its Economy to Avoid Becoming Overly Dependent on Oil Revenue

      The future is looking bright for the South American country of Guyana, where its 1 million residents have just achieved the highest global oil production per capita from its offshore fields. In order to avoid the resource curse of other oil-rich economies like Venezuela, Angola, and Nigeria, where corruption and inflation were results, the country is busy diversifying its economy. According to the President of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, they want to become like “Norway on steroids.”

     ExxonMobil discovered oil offshore Guyana in 2015, and since then, it has become a major source of Western Hemisphere oil. Oil sales began in 2019. The adjacent country of Suriname is also likely to have a similar trajectory, as oil is developed offshore there in fields with similar geology.

“For 25 years Norway used all of its resources to build out the systems, the infrastructure, and the investment in human capital and technology to be where they are,” Ali said during an interview at the Guyana Energy Conference in Georgetown on Wednesday. “If you look at where we are today and the type of investment we have made in terms of education, technology, I think we are Norway on steroids.”    

     Ali is focused especially on developing the agriculture and mining sectors. He also wants to transport natural gas from the offshore fields to fuel onshore power plants and manufacturing. As the wealth rolls in, the country has been building infrastructure like bridges as well as hotels and retail outlets. The construction boom has brought in lots of Cuban workers. The transformation will take time since the country is among the poorest in the region and has had high food and housing costs. Electricity costs are also high, but new natural gas power plants powered with domestic gas should help to keep them in check in the future. Oil production now accounts for about 75% of the economy. Ali plans to fund airports and roads in order to develop more ecotourism in the country. However, it has not been easy going. A 300MW natural gas power plant project is two years behind schedule, with costs ballooning to $2 billion.

“We have gone in the opposite direction,” he said. “I will say, in a humble way, that Guyana has demonstrated to the world that we have created a model of utilization of oil revenue to propel growth, advance wealth, and develop human capital.”

     It seems like a smart move for the country, and I wish them luck!

  

References:

 

Guyana plans 'Norway on steroids' to avoid oil curse. Kevin Crowley. Bloomberg. February 19, 2026. Guyana plans 'Norway on steroids' to avoid oil curse