By Collin M. Constantine and Saieed I. Khalil
The persistence of pioneering oil exploration companies in continuing drilling activities off the Guyana coast has served as an indicator that this tiny nation on the North East shoulder of South America may very well be on the cusp of a major oil find. Guyana’s geographical neighbourhood makes that a distinct possibility – its neighbour to the west, Venezuela, is an OPEC powerhouse; Suriname to the East already has a vibrant oil sector; and in its southern backyard, Brazil has recorded huge oil discoveries. Of significance are reports from the United States Geological Survey that the Guyana Suriname basin has been identified as having “the second highest resource potential among unexplored oil basins in the world and estimates mean recoverable oil reserves over 13.6 billion bbls and gas reserves of 39 trillion cubic ft.”
Already, plans are in train to deal with this eventuality. Following the election of President Donald Ramotar in November of 2011, a brand new Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environ-ment, which consolidates all the country’s natural resources and environmental agencies, was established.
At the same time commentators tout the potential benefits of an
