Brazil and Guyana lay groundwork for energy cooperation

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On May 6, Brazil and Guyana laid the groundwork for expanding energy cooperation during a visit by President Jair Bolsonaro to Georgetown, in which agreements were signed in areas such as infrastructure and justice.

“On the oil and gas issue, we have a Brazilian giant called Petrobras, which is increasingly becoming a reality of cooperating with Guyana. We hope for that,” Bolsonaro said after a meeting with his Guyanese counterpart, Irfaan Ali.

Guyana has emerged as one of the leading countries in low-cost oil production and is preparing to bid for oil blocks on its coastline by the end of the year, in which the American company ExxonMobil is expected to play a leading role.

ExxonMobil announced in April the discovery of three new wells, which brought its estimated reserves to 11 billion barrels of oil since it began exploration in 2015.

“Guyana has a great future ahead of it, particularly its oil and gas potential,” Bolsonaro insisted.

The discoveries of new oil wells have sharpened the border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela, which claims exploration activities in waters disputed between the two countries.

Ali, in turn, highlighted a project to create an energy corridor between both countries with Suriname.

“We discussed working together on a natural gas strategy and how this can fit into Brazil’s development and how we can coordinate and cooperate in this area,” the Guyanese president pointed out.

Both established that Brazil would provide equipment and computer programs to help collect information for national security and defense, projects for the construction of a deepwater port, road and rail connections, the development of hydroelectric power, fiber optic connectivity, and also agricultural projects.

In addition, the two heads of state signed agreements on legal cooperation in civil and criminal matters, details of which were not disclosed.

Bolsonaro’s trip to Guyana in January was canceled last-minute on his first stopover in Paramaribo, Suriname, because of his mother’s death.