United States Ambassador to Guyana Nicole Theriot says Guyana is becoming increasingly important to U.S. energy security as global instability continues to put pressure on oil and gas markets.
Speaking on the Energy Perspectives podcast, Ambassador Theriot said Guyana now holds a “wonderful pride of place” in the Western Hemisphere because it has been able to expand energy production without being directly disrupted by the geopolitical shocks affecting other parts of the world.
“So Guyana is incredibly important to us,” Theriot said, adding that the country’s value to Washington is growing as conflicts and tensions abroad make energy supply less secure.
She pointed to the Russia-Ukraine war and tensions involving Iran and the Strait of Hormuz as major developments complicating global energy security.
According to the ambassador, those international pressures are making countries like Guyana even more strategically significant.
“All of those things are complicating energy security and making it, quite frankly, less secure. And Guyana has this wonderful pride of place where you are continuing to do what you do unabated, unaffected by these things,” she said.
Theriot said that as Guyana’s oil output grows, its importance will extend not only to the United States but to the world more broadly.
In the same interview, she said Guyana’s production of light sweet crude places the country in an especially advantageous position, since that type of oil is easier and cheaper to refine than heavier crude.
She noted that Guyana’s rising output, combined with the quality of its crude and its relative insulation from current conflict zones, means the country is well placed to take on a larger role in global energy markets.
The ambassador also said the United States wants to remain closely aligned with Guyana as that role expands.
“And so it’s incredibly important for us to be by your side, to be your partner as this all develops,” she said.
