By Vishani Ragobeer in Houston
As thousands of industry professionals gathered in Houston, Texas for the 2026 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali has made a bold call for strategic investments in countries to achieve a global energy balance.
The energy balance is a phrase the President championed as he delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremony of this year’s OTC.
He posited that the energy transition— moving away from fossil fuels to more renewable energy sources— is not a simple feat of replacing one source of power with another. Instead, he said the world has to build an entirely new system, from its power grids to vehicles used, fueled by renewable energy while still relying and even expanding the existing system that is powered by diesel, gasoline, coal and other fossil fuels. Energy demand, he pointed out, continues to grow, not slow down.
As such, the President called for all stakeholders to work towards achieving an energy balance.
“The time has come for us to sit together and find a balanced approach to the energy needs of the world,” President Ali said.
Already, there are some ways of achieving this goal. First, the President said countries most in need— developing countries— must benefit from better financing support and more investments in their energy systems to meet growing demand.
Additionally, the Guyanese leader believes that more research and technological advancements must be funded to find the best solutions for sustainable development. This is particularly crucial, he explained, in light of the growing demand for minerals like lithium and cobalt for renewable energy development.
Beyond his position, President Ali said his country is already showing what’s possible.
Guyana is a small country at the northern edge of the South American continent with a population of about one million people. In 2019, it started producing oil and currently produces more than 900,000 barrels daily.
President Ali acknowledged that Guyana has rapidly become an oil hotspot, and his government is supporting expanded production. However, he said the country is also demonstrating how to achieve the energy balance.
The oil developments offshore, he explained, are funding low-carbon development onshore. The country’s flagship Gas-to-Energy project is the cornerstone of that development, soon harnessing natural gas offshore to power homes, businesses and industries through a new grid.
“It is a system-wide transformation,” President Ali said.
Using Guyana as an example of what’s possible, the President encouraged investors to work towards supporting the energy balance needed globally.
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