CEO of Hess Corporation expresses confidence in Guyana’s development potential

Chief Executive Officer of global oil, gas and energy company, Hess Corporation, John Hess has expressed pride at being able to contribute positively towards Guyana’s growing oil and gas sector and the development of the country as a whole.

Hess was giving his remarks on the Macro Oil and Gas Industry, and an outlook for Guyana at the International Energy Conference and Expo 2023, at the Marriott Hotel on Tuesday.

He highlighted that Guyana will play an important role in ensuring an orderly energy transition, noting that the country has a unique opportunity to be a role model for oil-producing countries, as well as developing countries around the world.

“Oil and gas will be needed for decades to come. I know President Biden [President of the United States of America] talks that it will be a while—maybe ten years. But at the end of the day, it’s going to be decades to come. And oil and gas are fundamental to ensure an affordable, just and secure energy transition,” Hess said.

He lauded President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s ‘outstanding’ spokesmanship on the transitioning to sustainable energy and the role oil and gas are playing in bringing shared economic prosperity to the people of Guyana.

The CEO also brought attention to the much-needed oil Guyana will be able to supply that is essential to achieving global energy security and economic growth.

He reiterated points made by President Ali, on the need for increased investment with regard to the energy sector, and the need for climate, energy and economic literacy.

Hess also lauded Guyana’s achievements in the oil and gas sector, noting the presence of over 11 million barrels of oil offshore Guyana, with more than 30 new discoveries since 2015.

“It is a remarkable achievement that the country is already producing more than 380,000 barrels per day of some of the highest value low carbon crude oil in the world, with a line of sight to be producing over 1.2 million barrels per day by 2027,” he stated.

The CEO believes Guyana will become one of the largest crude oil producers in the world, which is a phenomenal achievement.

As Guyana’s oil production continues to increase, the Government of Guyana is committed to ensuring that the country’s growing wealth is invested in sustainable development and an enhanced quality of life for all citizens.

Last December, the government and Hess Corporation announced an agreement for Hess to purchase high-quality carbon credits for a minimum of USD $750 million between 2022 and 2032, directly from the government.

The agreement will support Guyana’s efforts to protect the country’s vast forests and provide capital to improve the lives of citizens through government investments as part of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.

The multi-year agreement will see the issuance of 37.5 million REDD+ jurisdictional carbon credits on the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) registry, which will be independently verified to represent permanent and additional emissions reductions under ART’S REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standards 2.0.

The purchase of the carbon credits is a major part of Hess’ commitment to supporting global efforts to address climate change and ties into Guyana’s overall goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions.