Guyana's reelected President Ali promises to fast-track oil exploration

Guyana's President Irfaan Ali promised to fast-track oil exploration and boost revenues through a new production sharing agreement during an inauguration speech to start his second term in office.

Ali was sworn in for a second term Sept. 7 following general and regional elections Sept. 1. His term runs five years, already marked by new Guyanese crude volumes coming onstream and entering a highly competitive market.

John Hess, former CEO of Hess Corp. and a current director of Chevron, was in the audience, along with representatives of other oil companies.

"In the next five years, we will convert ambition into action, and action into transformation," Ali said on the State House lawns in Georgetown. "We will not speak in half-measures; we will not hesitate. We will deliver. Yes, our oil and gas sector will continue to grow, expanding production and revenue for our people.

"But why stop there? We will press forward with new exploration under a stronger production sharing agreement, ensuring that the benefits are greater, the gains are wider, and the wealth is truly for the people," Ali added.

A recent report by S&P Global Commodities Insights states that growing production from key markets like Guyana's have weighed on oil prices through 2025 so far.

According to local sources, latest data shows the country's average oil production estimated at 663,900 barrels of oil per day in July of this year, compared to 619,900 b/d in January.

Chevron has joined ExxonMobil and CNOOC as a major operator in Guyana's emerging Stabroek block, which has an estimated 14 billion barrels of oil equivalent in potential resources across 30 discoveries.

ExxonMobil has been developing the country's untapped resource pool since 2019 and has outlined exploration and development plans through 2030 at least, with the potential deployment of up to 10 Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units in Stabroek block.

The Liza field development continued to outperform as the foundation of Guyana's oil and gas growth.

"As of August 2025, it consists of four phases centered around the Liza, Payara, Pacora, and Yellowtail fields, that have rapidly ramped up since 2019," analysts at Commodities Insights said in a Sept. 2025 report. "The fourth development phase, Yellowtail, was put onstream in early-August 2025, which is ahead of the initial expected timeline that was set for the fourth quarter of 2025."

ExxonMobil as an operator has a 45% stake within the block, joined by Hess Corporation and CNOOC Petroleum with 30% and 25%, respectively.

Ali also said plans were in the pipeline to build a second natural gas-fired electricity generation facility, a fertilizer plant and a river bridge to link Guyana with neighboring Suriname, where TotalEnergies will begin producing oil from a large offshore field by 2029.

ExxonMobil is similarly focusing on high-impact wells in the Stabroek block, with future gas exploration planned near the Suriname border.

Given the rapid development of the country's oil and natural gas resources, Guyanese barrels are becoming critical to shifting crude flows.

S&P Global Commodities at Sea data shows exports at around 4.3 million b/d in 2025 so far, with top importers being the Netherlands, Panama, Sweden, and the US.

The country has exported around 634,000 b/d in September so far, with around 500,000 b/d going to the Netherlands and Panama.

Shipments to the US amounted to 33,000 b/d in August, down from 99,000 b/d in July and a peak of 120,000 b/d in March of this year.