Guyana’s Oil Money Will Go To China As Government Take Billions In Loan, China Has 25% Stake In Guyana’s Oil Production

The Guyanese government’s announcement that it is contracting with China Railway Group to build and fund the Amaila Falls hydroelectric project, and possibly take out as much as $1.5 billion in loans for China-built infrastructure, symbolizes the renewed takeoff of Chinese projects and PRC influence in Guyana.  An earlier version of the Amaila Falls project, which also would have been built by China Railway Group and funded through a combination of China Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank loans, fell apart in 2013 after it became too politically controversial within Guyana and the New York-based project integrator Sythe Global pulled out. The resurrected project reflects the increased sophistication of Chinese firms doing business in Guyana and the continuation of China’s longstanding working relationship with the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), which returned to power in August 2020 after a long and bitterly contested election process.

The new project, however, is only one of many Chinese activities taking off in the country, as enormous new resources pour into both the government and the private sector as proceeds from extraction of the country’s more than 9 billion barrels of recoverable oil come online. Others include a $256.6 million contract to the PRC to build a lengthy and strategically important bridge over the Demerara River which links the East and West Demerara, and hundreds of millions of dollars for roadwork, including a $200 million highway from Schoonord to Parika, a $200 million upgrade to the road connection from Annandale to Mahaica, improvements to road segments in the capital city of Georgetown, and others in the interior.

Chinese activities in Guyana also include the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)’s 25 percent stake in the Exxon Mobil-led consortium controlling the Stabroek oil fields. CNOOC has invested $5.25 billion of its own capital, while China Harbour Engineering Company has funded ongoing work in Georgetown’s booming construction sector, including a $100 million expansion of the capital’s signature hotel, the Pegasus