The thirst for oil is rekindling a centuries-old conflict between Venezuela and Guyana. On Thursday, December 14, at the end of a summit between their heads of state in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the two countries agreed to not "use force against one another." But they are still disputing a resource-rich territory, Essequibo, which is under Guyanese administration.
Despite the climate damage caused by fossil fuels, the oil industry continues to search for black gold. This is evident in the deep waters of Guyana, an English-speaking enclave in South America and a former British colony with a population of around 800,000, which has recently become a focal point for such explorations.
The first oil block, Stabroek, was discovered in 2015. Production began in 2019. Four years is not a long time. Usually, the lead time for deepwater projects is at least "seven to eight years," according to analyst Amanda Bandeira of British energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.
"The short timeframe in Guyana clearly shows the extent to which ExxonMobil and its partners wanted to accelerate development," said Espen Erlingsen, analyst for Norwegian firm Rystad Energy. "Because these assets have great commercial value."
ExxonMobil, the number one US oil and gas company, coordinated the search. It now operates the oil field and holds a 45% interest. At the time of the first discoveries, the firm was headed by a certain Rex Tillerson, who later became President Donald Trump's secretary of state. As announced in October, Chevron now also wants to profit from the Stabroek block. This other major player is preparing to buy out Hess, a stakeholder in the oil field (30%). The other partner is a Chinese national company, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (25%).
Chevron's massive future acquisition of Hess is valued at $53 billion (€48.6 billion). Such a huge sum reflects Guyana's "spectacular" development in the sector, "in terms of both the number of discoveries and the potential of the oil fields," said Francis Perrin, director of research at The French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs.
Oil production in the country averaged around 389,000 barrels per day in 2023 (less than 1% of the world's total). That's five times more than in 2020, according to figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA). This volume is even more impressive when put into perspective with national demographics.
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