Oil and gas turn poor countries into economic miracle – Watt?

Vijay Jayaraj

The nations that once relegated to the edge of economic discourse are now sprinting towards the sphere of prosperity, with a trajectory driven by a unified force: energy.

Energy is essential. From large AI data centers in the United States to large manufacturing plants in China, affordable and reliable energy supplies make all the differences between life and thriving.

Obtaining domestic energy resources (or the ability to secure imports) can unlock a range of opportunities: work breeding, infrastructure increases, and governments gain fiscal muscles to invest in their people.

Oil and gas, mocked by climate elites as relics of past times, have proven to be the engine of New Dawn. A group of countries are drawing fundamentally different lessons about pragmatism less than hydrocarbon exploitation.

Guyana: From Obscurity to the Petroleum Sword Saint

Located on the northern coast of South America, Guyana was once an afterthought of the global economic discourse. Today, it is the fastest growing economy in the world, with gross domestic product (GDP) soaring 63% in 2022 and 38% in 2023. Another 27% increase is expected this year.

The growth of Guyana is even left behind in the dusty “Asian Tiger” (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan). By 2025, analysts expect the country's 6.6 million acres of oil reserves to drive more than 14% on the country's Atlantic coastline due to Stabroek Block's ruthless production. Liza Discovery in 2015 is a 10 billion barrel Bonanza that has transformed the 810,000 country into an energy powerhouse.

Fiscal windfall – $2.57 billion in 2024 alone – funded infrastructure upgrades, healthcare expansion and education reform. As Upstream Online reports, Guyana's per capita income has tripled since 2019, an unimaginable lack of oil.

Niger: The Pipeline for Africa's Prosperity

Niger has written similar stories in half of the world in the drought in West Africa. This landlocked country is known for its uranium and livelihood farming and is expected to drive to redefine its future oil boom.

key? Niger-The benzyl pipe is a 1,212-mile conduit that is expected to transport crude oil from Niger's Agadham Rift Basin to the Atlantic coast. After the diplomatic challenge with Benin was resolved in August 2024, production is expected to increase by 110,000 barrels per day (BPD) in the coming years. GDP is expected to soar.

Senegal: Gas lamps forward

Further west, Senegal is joining the energy-driven Renaissance. The Sangomar oil field began production in June 2024, and the GTA gas project, which crossed the Senegal-Moritania border, is rewriting the country's economic script.

In 2024, Sangomar Field surpassed its initial target to produce 16.9 million barrels of crude oil compared to the planned 11.7 million barrels. With oil production exceeding 100,000 bpd and GTA is expected to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) to global markets, Senegal's GDP growth is expected to reach double digits in 2025, including Africa's highest.

Senegal's GDP growth in 2024 was about 10%, and energy exports are expected to account for 30% of government revenue in 2025. Crucially, gas-fired power plants are cutting electricity costs so that the industry can thrive.

Côte d'Ivoire: Through hydrocarbon diversification

Côte d'Ivoire, which has long relied on cocoa and coffee, is becoming a quiet energy giant in West Africa. The country has exceeded its production estimates in the Baleine oil and gas sector.

Oil production has doubled since 2020 to 60,000 bpd, while natural gas (72% of U.S. electricity supply) attracts industries from the region. The country plans to reach 200,000 barrels of oil per day by 2028 and 450 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Thanks to rapid oil and gas development, Cote d'Ivoire managed to reduce its poverty rate from 55% in 2011 to 37% in 2021 (latest figures). As oil production is expected to exceed three times over the next four years, poverty rates may drop to unit numbers.

Energy poverty rather than climate change remains a direct threat to these regions and continues to plague the future of millions of Africans and South Americans. Solar panels and windmills cannot supply power to steel plants, factories or cities.

The governments of Guyana, Niger, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire understand this. They prioritize citizens’ livelihoods over the “carbon reduction” targets drafted by so-called elites in Brussels or New York.

Their success reveals the vacancy of the zero-pure dogma and reaffirms an eternal truth: energy abundance is the basis for human progress.

Vijay Jayaraj is a science and research assistant at the Fairfax Carbon Dioxide Alliance in Virginia. He holds a Master of Environmental Science from the University of East Anglia and a Bachelor of Science in Energy Management from Robert Gordon University in the UK, and a Bachelor of Engineering from Anna University in India.

This article was originally published by RealClearenergy and is provided by Realclearwire.

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