The Speech I Would Give
A Guyanese petroleum engineer in Houston asks the trajectory question — is Guyana’s oil boom translating into human development? This Sunday Essay imagines the OTC 2026 presidential keynote that would answer him honestly.
A Guyanese petroleum engineer in Houston asks the trajectory question — is Guyana’s oil boom translating into human development? This Sunday Essay imagines the OTC 2026 presidential keynote that would answer him honestly.
Guyana’s 2016 oil agreement with ExxonMobil, retaining 1999 terms post-discovery, sparked intense debate. Its low royalty and high cost recovery raise critical questions about national sovereignty and fiscal equity, impacting Guyana’s economic future.
Guyana is the fastest-growing economy in the Western Hemisphere. More than half its citizens live in poverty. This fact-checked analysis — with six original data visualizations — examines the broken covenant between oil wealth and citizen welfare.
Illustration: Queen’s College, Georgetown — Architectural Pencil Sketch · GBJ Editorial Art