With rising prices, President Ali says Guyana’s oil refinery crucial

Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali says the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has once again demonstrated why the establishment of a local oil refinery is crucial.

Oil prices have soared recently due to the Israeli-US war against Iran. The conflict also impacts the cost of other goods and services.

Guyana, an oil hotspot producing more than 900,000 barrels daily, stands to benefit from higher oil prices, but government interventions that long cushion inflation pressures must be further sustained. For the country’s President, an oil refinery here is crucial.

“While one of the strategies (to counter rising costs) is to increase storage (of fuel) and take it to a few months… now I believe we should return to the conversation of a refinery for national security,” President Ali told those gathered at the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday.

At least five investors have shown an interest in building a refinery here, allowing the country to use its share of oil produced offshore. The government has been assessing proposals made.

Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago has expressed hope that Guyana can help revitalise the Pointe-a-Pierre Refinery, better known as the Petrotrin refinery, which was closed in 2018.

As Guyana mulls this venture, the country is moving ahead with other much-needed projects like a mega gas-to-energy venture at Wales, West Bank Demerara, which is expected to halve the cost of electricity. A second gas project is already on the cards, with President Ali stating that there will soon be high-level meetings with representatives of the US Export Import (EXIM) bank on the key infrastructure for this project.