The latest discovery of petroleum by US oil major ExxonMobil represents the beginning of a transformative economy which has been long overdue, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan said Monday.
He was speaking at a meeting with residents of Non Pariel, East Coast Demerara.
ExxonMobil on Monday announced that it had made its 15th oil discovery offshore Guyana, at the Mako-1 well southeast of the Liza field. The revelation comes three days after the company began oil production here.
Minister Jordan said the announcement offers hope for all of Guyana.
“This petroleum, with its possibilities of billions of US dollars coming to Guyana, offers us hope that we can turn around this country once and for all.”
The transformation, he said, should be felt by all citizens, both young and old, with the realisation that they are experiencing a good life.
A transformed Guyana will also see a connected Guyana, Minister Jordan noted.
“I see a Guyana that is interconnected, where the coast and the hinterland are no longer strangers. That we are connected by rail, boat, bridges, and roads,” he said.
Minister Jordan said Guyana is one step ahead, having learned from the poor decisions of the past. The Natural Resources Fund, Guyana’s own Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) will safely secure funds for “rainy days.”
He spoke of the sugar and rice industries that felt economic pressure in their downtime because the previous government failed to think about the future.
The finance minister said the lesson was learnt and it was for that reason that His Excellency President David Granger ordered that the Fund be established.
The latest discovery adds to the current resource estimate of more than 6 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
According to ExxonMobil, Mako-1 encountered approximately 164 feet of a high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir. It drilled in 5,315 feet of water and is located about six miles southeast of the Liza field.
(Department of Public Information)
