Cabinet has granted approval to the Ministry of Natural Resources to retain a consultant to provide a high level feasibility assessment to the Government of Guyana on whether investing in an oil refinery is a viable economic option.

This is according to Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, who told a post cabinet press briefing on Thursday at the Ministry of the Presidency, that the consultant is Pedro Haas, who is the ‎Director of Advisory Services at Hartree Partners.

It is a company based in the United States and is involved in providing advisory services in upstream and downstream trading and regulatory subjects in the oil and gas industry.

Minister Trotman said that the services of Mr Hass were secured through the new Petroleum Directorate group. Mr Hass is expected to provide assessment within four weeks from the date of engagement and government has allocated a total of $10M for the consultancy.

When questioned, Minister Trotman told reporters that the government has received multiple applications for the establishment of several oil refineries in Guyana.

These applications came from Guyanese companies and international companies, which are associated with Guyanese citizens.