Guyana has long existed outside the world’s gaze. The South American country has seen its historic industries of sugar and bauxite suffer a slow and gradual decline, leading many Guyanese to go abroad in search of better opportunities. But the slumbering capital Georgetown, with its old wooden houses built on stilts and interlaced with canals designed to control sea water levels, is suddenly bustling.
Hotels are full, with businessmen and consultants rushing in to be a part of its good fortune, which began in 2015 when ExxonMobil and its partners first discovered oil offshore. Since then 12 further oil discoveries have been made, making Guyana an oil hotspot.
