Guyana’s vice president said this week that his country doesn’t want to join the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
While Guyana hasn’t yet received an official invitation to join the oil sector cartel, OPEC has been putting the idea out there. And you can see why:
- 💵 Guyana is backed by a $40B oil consortium (led by Exxon Mobil)
- 🛢️ It’s gone from pumping zero to 336,000 barrels a day since 2019, and
- 📈 It’s looking to pump more than a million barrels per day by 2028.
Intrigue’s take: OPEC was once the place for oil producers – more exclusive than a Berlin nightclub devoted to minimalist German techno.
But non-OPEC producers like Brazil and the US are now projected to outpace OPEC by millions of barrels a day in coming years. And with the green transition underway, Guyana wants to get “as much oil out of the ground as quickly as possible”, without OPEC rules tapping its brakes.
Also worth noting:
- Guyana (pop: ~791,000) is the only English-speaking country in South America.
- The IMF expects Guyana’s GDP to grow by 37.2% (!) this year.
