Guyana’s Stabroek Block now holds an estimated 11.6 billion barrels of oil, according to the latest update provided by Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Minister Bharrat revealed that the reserves have increased by 600 million barrels since the last reported figure of 11 billion barrels in 2022.
“We have had a minimal increase in resources. I think we have moved to 11.6 billion now,” he stated.
This disclosure comes amid ongoing debate and speculation about the true extent of Guyana’s Stabroek Block oil reserves. Recently, Vice President (VP) Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo downplayed reports of any significant increase in the reserves, but it was not until Minister Bharrat’s press conference that an official figure was provided.
Minister Bharrat stressed the importance of accurate and constructive criticism when discussing the oil and gas sector. “We don’t mind anyone being critical of the sector, but the criticism must be fair, truthful, and constructive,” he said.
The Minister addressed recent local reports carried from S&P Global Commodity Insights analysts Fernanda Machado, Mariana Anjos and Jerry Jarvis released in May, stating that the Guyana Basin has emerged as an important offshore basin based on recoverable resources, with 18.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent discovered since 2015.
Like the S&P Global analysts, the Chairman of the Wales Development Authority, Asgar Ally revealed earlier this year that approximately 15 billion barrels of oil have already been discovered.
However, Minister Bharrat dismissed these higher figures, stating that they do not reflect the actual reserves data held by the government and ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), the operator of the Stabroek Block.
“And then there is this trend that we pick up articles from Africa, from all sorts of different countries and examples of those countries and we publish them and we believe that oh this will happen in Guyana…” the minister said.
He continued, “Worse yet, they have no data on which they are based in their analysis, because we are custodians of the data, the government and Exxon.”
Minister Bharrat stressed that any data released by ExxonMobil regarding Guyana’s reserves must first be approved by the government.
“If we have 18 billion, we will say that because it means well for our country. There is no reason to hide it,” Bharrat said, adding, “But we have to be factual. We can’t lie to the people [citizens] and say we have 18 billion barrels when we don’t.”
