Oil Expert says Guyana’s future ‘very very bright’
- Touts Green agenda as an excellent strategy
Guyanese oil expert, Dr. Dennis Pieters has ascertained that come 2020 when oil production begins and the revenues start rolling in, Guyana’s future is set to be “very, very bright”.
Dr. Pieters has worked with many oil producing countries around the world and is a Reservoir Engineering Subject Matter Expert and teaches Reservoir Engineering to Petroleum Engineers and Geoscientists at the Upstream Petroleum Development Center in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Providing his services to Guyana now, he told the News Room, “The future is very very bright, I see it as very bright.” He, however, begged Guyanese to also remain patient as the country transforms itself.
He explained that a larger sum of revenues will be garnered after the ‘payout’ period for the first few years, after which the revenue will be split 50/50 between the Government and the oil companies: Exxon Mobil, Nexen and Hess Corporation.
“So we’re gonna start getting revenues [from 2020],” suggesting that the revenue could be put aside for work with the ‘Green strategy’.
This strategy is one which will also help Guyana to move away from its dependence on oil for its energy consumption needs.
The strategy was crafted by President David Granger. Addressing the opening of the 11th Parliament is was reported that the President advanced, “The oil and gas sector is going to provide resources to transform the country’s development. We intend to align that transformation with the objectives of Guyana’s ‘green’ development agenda.”
Through this strategy, the lump sum revenue that will be earned from the industry will be drilled into the economy to promote sustainable development. Dr Pieters made known that this will greatly impact the development of the education and renewable energy sectors.
With many countries subscribing to United Nation Paris Accord, Dr Pieters said, “I think It’s an excellent strategy that the President has laid out.”
“The world is turning to renewable energy [and] away from the fossil fuels because of the carbon in generates in the atmosphere,” the expert explained and stated, “Guyana has more than enough green energy [but] we just in the past have not the government revenue to build these.”
Despite this, he voiced that Guyana has a population of fewer than one million people and that the country already has about 3.2 billion barrels of ‘proven oil’.
He is certain that there is more oil to be found as there are more wells to be drilled.
But, the road to development is hindered by partisan politics in Guyana and the different economic policies that may arise from a change of Government, Dr. Pieters opined.
“I think we ought to get together as a Government, the parties should combine and everyone should be included because we’ve had our differences in the past but I think we need to straighten out our differences.”
He also posited, “No country can run on a five-year plan and we have elections every five years.”
