Guyana Soars as Oil Wealth Boosts Per-Capita Income to Surpass US
ExxonMobil's Liza-1 well discovery in 2015 marked the beginning of Guyana's rapid economic transformation. On May 20, 2015, ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana announced finding more than 295 feet of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone at the Liza-1 well, approximately 120 miles offshore in the Stabroek Block.
Commercial extraction from the Liza Phase 1 development commenced on December 20, 2019. By the close of 2019, the Stabroek consortium and other operators had confirmed around 18 offshore discoveries across Guyana's blocks. ExxonMobil now places the Stabroek Block's recoverable resource base at approximately 11 billion oil-equivalent barrels.
Guyana's economy averaged 47.6% annual real GDP growth over the three calendar years following the start of oil production. Nominal GDP has ballooned from approximately $5 billion in 2018 to a projected $33.96 billion in 2026, according to IMF estimates - a near sevenfold expansion in under eight years.
The per-capita income surge is perhaps the most striking transformation. Using constant 2021 international dollar purchasing-power measures tracked by Our World in Data, Guyana's GDP per capita has climbed past $80,000, surpassing the United States and ranking tenth globally behind only Switzerland and Norway.