Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat says Guyana’s oil production is expected to surpass one million barrels per day when another floating production, storage and offloading vessel comes on stream later this year or early next year.
Bharrat made the disclosure during an appearance on the Starting Point Podcast, where he described Guyana’s oil and gas development as “unprecedented” and said few, if any, oil-producing nations have recorded the pace of growth Guyana has achieved since its first major discovery in 2015.
According to the Minister, Guyana has moved from first oil in December 2019 to producing more than 900,000 barrels per day with four FPSOs currently operating offshore.
“When we took over government in 2020, I can recall our daily production was 80,000 barrels per day with one FPSO. Today, as you mentioned, we are over 900,000 barrels per day with four FPSOs,” Bharrat said.
He noted that another FPSO is expected to arrive in Guyana shortly, while two additional vessels are currently under construction in Singapore.
“And one set to arrive in Guyana shortly, taking us to five FPSO, while two more are under construction in Singapore presently. That is the Jaguar and the Essequibo 1899,” the Minister said.
Bharrat said once the Errea Wittu FPSO comes into operation, Guyana’s daily production is expected to cross the one-million-barrel mark.
“That with Errea Wittu coming on stream later this year, early next year, our production would surpass the million barrel, which will make Guyana the highest oil producer in the world per capita,” he stated.
The Natural Resources Minister said Guyana’s rapid rise in the oil and gas sector is unlike anything seen globally, whether in ultra-deepwater, shallow water or onshore exploration and production.
“This has never been achieved anywhere in the world, whether it’s ultra-deep water, whether it’s shallow water, whether it’s onshore exploration production. It has never happened, what took place in Guyana has never happened anywhere in the world,” Bharrat said.
He pointed to the timeline between the May 2015 discovery and first oil in December 2019 as part of what makes Guyana’s development record significant.
Bharrat said exploration is also continuing in the Stabroek Block and other areas, while Government continues to sign agreements with companies and countries to expand exploration.
“And while this has been ongoing, exploration continues in the Stabroek Block, as well as other blocks. We are signing other agreements with companies, with countries to continue exploration as well too,” he added.
The Minister said the growth in the sector over the past five to six years has been “tremendous,” adding that the Government has managed the sector through what he described as strong leadership and decisive decision-making.
He further stated that the main challenge facing the administration is not managing the sector itself, but managing public expectations as oil revenues and economic activity continue to grow.
“Yet the difficulty in the sector is not the managed sector, because we’ve been doing quite fine over the last five to six years,” Bharrat said.
He said Guyana’s oil and gas sector is regarded as one of the better managed among new oil-producing countries, pointing to transparency measures such as publication of production licences, environmental permits, quarterly reporting of revenues, and disclosure of oil revenues flowing into the Natural Resource Fund.
Bharrat said the Government remains focused on ensuring that the benefits of the sector reach ordinary Guyanese, including through jobs, training, business opportunities and wider economic expansion.
