Guyana has oil now, and it has a lot of it. On Wikipedia’s “List of countries by proven oil reserves,” Guyana is above Norway, and if you want to know what a Norway-esque oil reserve can do, go talk to a starry-eyed recent college graduate with a Bernie Sanders campaign sign taped to their bedroom window.
If Guyana isn’t ringing a bell, or if you get Guyana confused with Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, French Guiana, or even sometimes Suriname, Guyana is a small country on South America’s north coast, wedged between Venezuela, Suriname, and Brazil. It is perhaps best known in America for being the site of Jonestown. Now, it’s got oil.
This isn’t that recent of a development. It’s been going on for a few years. But it takes a while for the oil’s presence to turn into the oil industry’s presence, and then you’ve gotta wait for the money to come in, and really what we’re here for is speculation about what’s going to happen with the oil money in Guyana. Not really knowing much about it, we mostly hope they use it to 1) bribe FIFA to let them host a World Cup and 2) troll Venezuela, who’s improbably failed to bribe FIFA to let them host a World Cup. How has Venezuela failed to do this? This is baffling. The two things you need to host a World Cup, judging by recent recipients of the honor, are a lot of oil money and a brash disregard for human rights. Russia’s got those. Qatar’s got those. Why is Venezuela not hosting in 2026? I mean, yeah, the U.S. and Canada and Mexico all have their flaws, but this was Venezuela’s World Cup to host. Starting to doubt FIFA’s commitment to its principles.
Really, Qatar is probably the best thing Guyana could turn into. Qatar or Norway. Either would be great. Guyana gets really into outdoor sports and one particular aesthetic? Great. Guyana starts building glimmering skyscrapers all over the place and becomes an Instagram travel destination? Also great. The worst case is that Guyana ends up like Ecuador, which also has a lot of oil but kind of just rests on the whole “We’re named for the Equator” thing. Although I guess Ecuador does have the Galapagos. Maybe Guyana can get itself one of those.
