Oil output, exports drove Guyana economy’s growth of 43.6% in 2024
2025.01.17 16:27
By Kemol King and Marianna Parraga
GEORGETOWN (Reuters) – Guyana’s economy achieved its fifth-consecutive year of double-digit growth in 2024, expanding 43.6% as oil production and exports showed solid increases, Finance Minister Ashni Singh told the parliament on Friday.
Latin America’s newest oil producer last year became the region’s fifth-largest crude exporter after Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia, and was identified as one of the main contributors to the growth of global oil supplies.
The oil sector expanded 57.7%, while the non-oil sector grew 13.1% last year, the minister said.
Oil output rose to an average of 616,000 barrels per day from 391,000 bpd the previous year as a consortium led by U.S. major Exxon Mobil (NYSE:), which controls all production in the country, continued expanding operations and completed a key upgrade at its offshore facilities.
“Guyana’s economy continues to perform exceptionally well,” Singh said during the presentation of Guyana’s public budget.
Energy minister Vickram Bharrat said this week the country exported 225 crude cargoes in 2024, of which 28 cargoes were shipped by the government from its share of oil produced by the Exxon group. In 2023, the government received and exported 136 crude cargoes, according to LSEG shipping data.
Guyana’s shipments last year met demand from European refiners for easy-to-process sweet crudes to replace some Middle Eastern grades, according to traders and the LSEG data.
The nation’s oil revenue increased to $2.57 billion in 2024, including crude sales made by the government and $348 million in royalties received from the Exxon group, compared with $1.62 billion in 2023, including $218.1 million in royalties.
A fourth floating oil production facility expected this year will add 250,000 bpd of output capacity to the Exxon consortium’s operations.
