Oil Production helps Guyana save US $800 million since 2020

Guyana has saved over US $800 million from more than US $3 billion in oil revenues since the country embarked on oil production in 2020, as per government officials.

It is to be noted that a senior government official has stated that the country has saved almost US $ 500 million after the government’s total extraction of US $ 1.0002 billion in 2023 from the Natural Resource Fund (NRF).

Notably, it was based on the legally entrenched formula.

Further, the official stated that by the end of 2023, the government would be given their share for the expenses, and it was estimated that they would get US $ 800 million, which would be put aside.

“At the end of 2023. The government will be entitled to their share for spending; we should, as of the end of 2024, just over US $800 million which will be put aside”, the official added.

Noting this, those withdrawals were transferred to the Consolidated Fund for budgeted capital projects and programmes.

As per the reports, in 2022, Guyana saved US $269 million, earning interest of about US $13 million and earning a yield of about 5 per cent from overnight deposits on all funds deposited in the NRF at the United States Federal Reserve.

Further to this, he explained that the country is looking forward to withdrawing its entitled amount from the NRF as part of the 2024 budget.

“We will have a good amount that is now starting. Remember that we have done better than the years before, and as they start (more production), more and more will be added to that savings for the future”, a government worker stated.

Not only this, in royalties from its entitled lifts of oil between the period of 2020 and the end of the last quarter of 2023, the country has earned almost US $3,057,571,695.52 including US $385,357,766.82.

Moreover, in 2023, Guyana sanctioned 17 lifts. The nation is now taking a step ahead to foster its economy with the help of crude sales, as this year, it is entitled to 27 lifts with the advent of the Payara Project. It is to be mentioned that the production commenced on November 14, 2023.

Under this project, the country is producing more than 180,000 barrels of oil per day and marking its path to reach its initial production capacity of 220,000 barrels per day during the first quarter, stated ExxonMobil.