Oil boom transforms Guyana, prompting a scramble for spoils

Guyana is poised to become the fourth-largest offshore oil producer in the world, placing it ahead of Qatar, the United States, Mexico and Norway. But the list of needs is long in this South American country of 791,000 people. Many worry their lives won't change even as the oil boom will generate billions of dollars for this largely impoverished nation. Bitter fights are certain over how the wealth should be spent in a place where politics is sharply divided along ethnic lines. Change is already visible, and infrastructure projects are underway. But many people still can't make ends meet. And many oil-industry jobs won't go to locals.