December 20th was declared National Petroleum Day by A Partnership For National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration. It was the day of ‘First Oil’ and according to the AFC the start of Guyana’s meteoric economic growth. The party’s press statement states, “In May 2015, when ExxonMobil and its partners announced it had found commercial quantities of crude offshore Guyana, the news seemed surreal. For so many years, Guyanese had believed there was oil to be found, as the country’s coast is located in the same maritime region as the oil-producing states of Venezuela, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.”
The party stated, “The issuing of a production license in July 2017, Guyana’s first, put us on a non-returnable path towards early production. With that licence in place, timelines became locked in and certain. In what was viewed as one of the fastest discovery-to-production projects in the global petroleum world, Guyana was to begin oil production in just about four years, defying the industry average of nine years.”
The AFC said that while ExxonMobil and its partners had decades of experience in oil production, Guyana was like a newborn babe and the government at the time was in a Bolt-like sprint to catch up. “Three FPSOs were to be procured; the Lisa Destiny, named as a tribute to the ultimate realization of Guyana’s long-awaited wealth; Lisa Unity, an indication of where we were to head as a nation with the newfound wealth, and Lisa Prosperity, signaling Guyanese new and emerging state of being in a united and stable oil economy.” the party noted.
The AFC stated, “By the time the first barrel of crude was ready to be pumped, the coalition government had drafted and passed some eleven pieces of legislation necessary to facilitate the country’s oil industry. In 2017 Guyana applied for and was granted candidature to Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), committing the country to globally promote open and accountable management of oil, gas and mineral resources. In 2019, the Natural Resource Fund was created to manage the resource wealth and also save some for rainy days and future generations.”
