‘Oil crisis ignites refinery push in Guyana’

Mar 20, 2026 News

---

…Pres. Ali signals rethinking of strategy as Middle East tensions shake global markets     

Kaieteur News – Amid escalating oil prices occasioned by the ongoing Middle East conflict, President Irfaan Ali has signaled that his administration will revive conversations surrounding the opening up of an oil refinery.

Oil and natural gas prices were volatile Thursday after Iran ramped up strikes on energy infrastructure across the Middle East and attacked one of the world’s most important liquefied natural gas facilities in Qatar. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.18% to settle at $108.65 per barrel, its highest settle so far during the Iran war and its highest closing level since July 2022. Brent during trading surged to hit $119 per barrel before paring gains. WTI, the U.S. benchmark, edged lower by 0.19% to settle at $96.14 per barrel, paring gains after hitting $100 per barrel earlier.

Traders on Thursday monitored comments from U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel will work to help the United States reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Netanyahu said. The United States could also remove sanctions on Iranian oil on tankers and may conduct another release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to try and bring down oil prices, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday in an interview with Fox Business.

Meanwhile, speaking at the 136th Annual General Meeting for the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) on Thursday, President Ali told the audience that the current global situation had placed the spotlight on the policy decisions going forward.

He explained that one such strategy would be to increase the storage capacity, which would allow Guyana to have better control over the differences in prices as well as the extreme shock on the market. “But now I believe we should return to the conversation of a refinery for national security, because this challenge has really opened up discussions globally and reinforces what the U.S. policy for the Western Hemisphere may be?… That is, we have to in this hemisphere, optimise our resources, optimise the development of our resources, for the protection of the hemisphere, for the economic viability of the hemisphere, for the energy viability of the hemisphere,” the Guyanese head of state said.

He went on the say that these are no longer far-fetched costs, but rather realities that must be embraced, and an important part of such is that it should be ensured that the hemisphere is a secure one, that is rule-based and the values for freedom and democracy are shared. “We cannot continue to look beyond our hemisphere for solutions, when you have so much resources within the Western Hemisphere, that must be developed if we are to really secure a sustainable future for ourselves. It is in this context that we must view your annual general meeting. We cannot be unaware of this,” he added.

At the 2025 Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo President Ali had announced that the Government of Guyana (GoG) will soon partner with United Stated-based Curlew Midstream to refine and store locally produced oil.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo dating back since 2023 had underscored those ongoing discussions for an oil refinery with the Dominican Republic are far from finalised despite the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Guyana’s President Ali and the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader. The signing of the MOU had spurred deliberations about establishing an oil refinery in Guyana capable of refining approximately 50,000 barrels of oil daily. Notably, the Dominican Republic is poised to hold a controlling stake of 51% in this collaborative endeavour.

At the just concluded Energy Conference, this newspaper reported that Government of Guyana had been engaging with the government of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) to explore possible partnership for the restart of the twin-island’s oil refinery which was closed in 2018. T&T’s Energy Minister, Dr. Roodal Moonilal who attended Guyana’s Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Georgetown last week. He was part of a panel discussion alongside Guyana’s Minister of Natural Resources, Vikram Bharrat and Suriname’s Minister of Oil, Gas, and Environment, Patrick Brunings.

In his discussion, Moonilal outlined Trinidad’s role for many decades in the region’s energy landscape. He acknowledged missed opportunities in emerging energy destinations like Guyana, Suriname and others by the former Trinidadian administration and expressed regret that T&T with decades of experience in the hydrocarbon sector, has not conducted more business with Guyana, which discovered oil in 2015 and began production four years later.

However, the minister outlined that the Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration has now mandated that Trinidad deepen collaboration with its regional partners particularly, Guyana and Suriname. “The time has come that we institute some type of forum where ministers of energy and their respective teams can meet more regularly to collaborate, to work together on investment policies, strategies, so we do not duplicate,” Minister Moonilal said.

Dr. Moonilal further outlined advantages of T&T as partner, noting the country’s existing gas infrastructure, which he noted could help Guyana and Suriname. He said, “This will enable rapid monetisation of gas resources without the substantial investment required to build new plants.”

Additionally, he noted that Guyana could play a key part in the restart of the Pointe-a-Pierre Refinery. “We are indeed encouraged to work with the Government of Guyana and other delegates and other entities present at this energy conference to advance the reopening of the refinery in Pointe-a-Pierre, Trinidad and Tobago,” he stated. If the operations restart, he said the facility will require petroleum from regional partners. Notably, the oil refinery can process about 150,000 barrels of oil daily.

Meanwhile, Minister Bharrat, speaking on the restart of the oil refinery, noted, “So that is an area that we’ve already been engaging on with Trinidad and Tobago. To look at the possibility of having that refinery restarted, to have investors play a part in that as well too, who are working with us in Guyana that they too can work in Trinidad at the same time. And we’ve held several meetings together, yesterday, and we have a few more set up today.”

Guyana’s oil production from the Stabroek Block which is operated by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) is currently over 900,000 barrels per day from four developments — Liza Phase One, Liza Phase Two, Payara and Yellowtail. The other projects: Uaru, Whiptail and Hammerhead have also received government approval but are not yet producing. By the end of the decade, EMGL is expected to have eight project onstream.

 

 

 

---

• conversation, prices, refinery, revisit

---