During his address at the opening of the 2025 Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo, President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Dr Benedict Okechukwu Oramah, voiced his support for the Guyanese government’s extraction of natural resources amid a global push for renewable energy.
Dr Oramah acknowledged the vast potential of Guyana’s oil resources and warned that such wealth can “attract the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
He estimates that at current market price, Guyana’s 11.6 billion oil reserves could generate over US$800 billion. This he said can be used to lift its people out of poverty and drive economic transformation.
“At this current market price, Guyana is estimated to have at least 840 billion US of wealth beneath its seas and soils, (a) country of less than a million people, that is something to be very, very proud of,” he said.
Dr Oramah noted that since oil was discovered offshore Guyana, the country has become one of the Caribbean’s most economically vibrant and attractive investment destinations. To this end, he thanked the Irfaan Ali led administration for taking bold and decisive steps to maximize the gains for from its natural resources.
The AfriExim President dismissed the notion that developing countries should save their natural resources for the future and not extract it to improve the lives of its people. “Why should any country choose to defer natural resource-backed economic development and keep the population in poverty under the pretext of saving the resources for the future?” he questioned.
Dr Oramah believes that this position held by a certain group of policymakers and development practitioners is promoted to keep resource-rich developing countries virtually poor.
Instead, he advocated for an aggressive approach to resource extraction and utilization. “My advice is that such countries must drill, baby, drill, and if they cannot drill, they should strive to sell the oil reserves forward and use the resources to quickly build infrastructure, train their people, and dynamize their economies. I’m very proud that Guyana is doing just that,” he added.
Further, the AfriExim Bank President cautioned against leaving resources untapped while foreign economies benefit. “We must say no to serving as an unpaid warehouse for rich economies and keeping the oil under the ground while our people are poor,” he said.
He advised that Guyana leverage its resources as a financial security tool to drive infrastructure and industrial growth. He concluded by encouraging Guyana to ensure that its oil wealth translates into socio-economic prosperity for its people.
