From obscurity to oil juggernaut: Oil & Gas turning poor countries into economic miracles

Nations once relegated to the margins of economic discourse are now sprinting toward prosperity, their trajectories propelled by a single, unifying force: energy.

Energy is indispensable. From the huge AI data centers in the U.S. to the mega-scale manufacturing factories in China, affordable and dependable energy supplies make all the difference between living and thriving.

Access to domestic energy resources – or the ability to secure imports – unlocks a cascade of opportunity: Jobs multiply, infrastructure rises, and governments gain the fiscal muscle to invest in their people.

Oil and gas, derided by climate elites as relics of a bygone era, are proving instead to be the engines of a new dawn. A cohort of nations is charting a radically different course fueled by the unyielding pragmatism of hydrocarbon exploitation.

Guyana: From Obscurity to Oil Juggernaut

Nestled along South America’s northern coast, Guyana was once an afterthought in global economic discourse. Today, it is the world’s fastest-growing economy, with gross domestic product (GDP) skyrocketing by a staggering 63% in 2022 and 38% in 2023. It is projected to grow another 27% this year.

Guyana’s growth leaves even the vaunted “Asian Tigers” – Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan – in the dust. By 2025, analysts project a still-robust expansion of more than 14%, driven by the relentless output of the Stabroek Block, 6.6 million acres of oil reserves off the country’s Atlantic shoreline. The 2015 Liza discovery, a 10-billion-barrel bonanza, has transformed this nation of 810,000 into an energy powerhouse.

The fiscal windfall – $2.57 billion in 2024 alone – has funded infrastructure upgrades, healthcare expansions and education reforms. As Upstream Online reports, Guyana’s per capita income has quadrupled since 2019, a feat unimaginable without oil.

Niger: Africa’s Pipeline to Prosperity

Half a world away, in the arid expanses of West Africa, Niger is scripting a similar tale. Long known for uranium and subsistence farming, this landlocked nation is poised to ride an oil boom that could redefine its future.

The key? The Niger-Benin pipeline, a 1,212-mile conduit that promises to ferry crude from Niger’s Agadem Rift Basin to the Atlantic coast. After diplomatic hiccups with Benin were resolved in August 2024, production was expected to surge past 110,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the coming years. GDP is forecast to soar as a result.

Senegal: Gas Lights the Way Forward

Further west, Senegal is joining the energy-driven renaissance. The Sangomar oil field, which began production in June 2024, and the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) natural gas project, straddling the Senegal-Mauritania border, are rewriting the nation’s economic playbook.

In 2024, the Sangomar field exceeded its initial target, producing 16.9 million barrels of crude oil compared to the planned 11.7 million. With oil output exceeding 100,000 bpd and GTA is poised to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) to global markets, Senegal’s GDP growth is projected to hit double digits in 2025, among the highest in Africa.

Senegal’s GDP growth was around 10% in 2024, and energy exports were projected to account for 30% of government revenue in 2025. Crucially, gas-fired power plants are slashing electricity costs, enabling industries to thrive.

Côte D’Ivoire: Diversification Through Hydrocarbons

Côte D’Ivoire, long reliant on cocoa and coffee, is emerging as West Africa’s quiet energy giant. The country has exceeded initial estimates for production from its Baleine oil and gas field.

Oil production has doubled since 2020 to 60,000 bpd, while natural gas – supplying 72% of the nation’s electricity – has lured industries from across the region. The country plans to reach 200,000 barrels of oil per day and 450 million cubic feet of gas daily by 2028.

Thanks to rapid oil and gas development, Cote d’Ivoire has managed to reduce its poverty rate from 55% in 2011 to 37% in 2021 (the latest data available). With oil output projected to more than triple in next four years, the poverty rate could drop to single digits.

Energy poverty, not climate change, remains the immediate threat to these regions and continues to plague the future of millions of Africans and South Americans. Solar panels and windmills cannot power steel mills, factories or cities.

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

Their success exposes the vacuity of net-zero dogma and reaffirms a timeless truth: Energy abundance is the foundation of human progress.

Vijay Jayaraj is a Science and Research Associate at the CO2 Coalition, Fairfax, Virginia. He holds an M.S. in environmental sciences from the University of East Anglia and a postgraduate degree in energy management from Robert Gordon University, both in the U.K., and a bachelor’s in engineering from Anna University, India.