Topic: 2024-The Situation in Guyana
Country: Niger
Delegate Name: Avery Weber
Situation in Guyana – Niger
Guyana and Venezuela are opposed in a territorial dispute over their shared Essequibo border. Historically, Venezuela ceded the Essequibo border region to Guyana by treaty. In 2015, oil was discovered in this region, and Venezuela rejected its treaty with Guyana and claimed the border region as its sovereign territory. This is the dispute that the United Nations is working to resolve.
Niger has no direct interest in this dispute other than its interest as an oil producing country. Niger produces 20,000 barrels of oil per day (b/d) and has an estimated 1 billion barrels of oil in proven reserves. Venezuela produces 85,000 b/d and has an estimated 300 billion barrels in proven oil reserves, the largest in the world. Venezuela produces 4 times more oil than Niger on a daily basis and they are often competitors in the oil industry. Guyana produces 650,000 b/d and has an estimated 11 billion barrels in proven oil reserves. Niger is not particularly invested in the conflict between Guyana and Venezuela but wants to find a resolution that is in the best interest of the oil markets.
Niger shares similar interests with Guyana like poverty reduction, sustainable development, and energy access. They would both benefit from technical collaborations in the oil industry, could work cooperatively with other OPEC countries to ensure optimized oil profits, and would be more compatible because of their aligned values. Additionally, Niger and Guyana, having parliamentary governments with strong executive branches are more similar in government structure as opposed to Venezuela, which is governed by dictatorship. Niger and Venezuela don’t have many overlapping values and no beneficial alliance seems possible because US and EU trade sanctions on Venezuela would restrict trade alliances with this country. Venezuela has nationalized its oil industry resulting in harsh US and EU trade sanctions which have severely limited its oil production and has caused economic decline in the country.
Niger supports Guyana’s claim to the Essequibo border. First, Guyana has a historical claim to the border region established by treaty with Venezuela. Venezuela respected this treaty until oil was found in the now-disputed border territory. It has no rational basis for rejecting its treaty with Guyana. Any beneficial trade alliances, social policy collaborations, or cooperation in steering oil markets would be more probable with a friendly Guyana having greater oil producing capability, because it is not encumbered with harsh trade sanctions imposed by the US and EU. While this probably is small, the probability of furthering any Niger interests or forming any beneficial trade alliances with Venezuela resulting from its ownership of the Essequibo border is zero, and could potentially be harmful for Niger – aligning with a dictator could alienate Niger with the rest of the world. For at least these reasons, Niger supports Guyana’s claim to the disputed Essequibo border.
