BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

Global Business

Factual: Money

Insights into the business world from the BBC.

Global Business: Guyana: Getting rich quick

Guyana: Getting Rich Quick

18/05/2019 GMT

Guyana: Getting rich quick

BBC World Service - Global Business, Guyana: Getting rich quick

What happens when big oil hits a small, poor nation?

Guyana, a country of just 750,000 people wedged between Venezuela and Suriname on the north-east coast of South America, has never had an oil industry. But a series of recent discoveries in its waters has revealed billions of barrels of oil beneath the ocean, potentially one of the world’s biggest reserves. 

Next year, the oil is due to start flowing and the impact on business is already being felt. A shoreside oil service industry has popped up; workers who previously struggled to get by are finding stable employment; and cafes and hotels are overflowing with foreign customers. But encounters with the Venezuelan Navy, huge environmental risks, and legal challenges mean this is a business that is far from straightforward.

Presenter/Producer: Simon Maybin

Photo: A trainee at the Totaltec Academy in Georgetown prepares for work in the new oil sector
Credit: BBC

BBC World Service

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Global Business

Guyana: Getting rich quick

Genres

Brand

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

About BBC World Service