Guyana aims to avoid oil curse by spending on health and education

Guyana aims to avoid oil curse by spending on health and education

The president of Guyana, the world’s fastest-growing economy, is inviting investors to back his ambitious vision to transform the small South American country into a regional health, education and transport hub with the help of burgeoning oil wealth.

“We’re investing tremendously in healthcare. and we’re investing heavily in education”, President Irfaan Ali, 42, told the Financial Times in an interview while visiting London last week to seek investment.

“But not only are we investing in healthcare and education to fulfil the needs of Guyanese, we’re investing in healthcare and education as important foreign currency earners of the future . . . so Guyana can become a health and education hub for South America, for the Caribbean and the huge diaspora that resides in North America.”

A former British colony with a population of 787,000, Guyana’s fortunes have changed out of all recognition since ExxonMobil discovered large offshore oil deposits in 2015. Crude oil production began in 2019 and is rising rapidly.

Exxon and its partners, Hess and China’s Cnooc, plan to reach output of 340,000 barrels per day this year. Ali said Guyana’s oil production could exceed 1mn b/d in three years, increasing revenue for the government of almost $4bn this year to $10bn a year from 2025.

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