—President Ali unveils; points to significant benefits that could soon be tapped

Guyana has received a proposal from Curlew Midstream a United States (US) based company for a 30,000-barrel oil refinery, advancing the country’s energy security landscape.

This was revealed on Tuesday by President Dr. Irfaan Ali during the opening ceremony of the country’s Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo being held at the Georgetown Marriott.

“It is a strategic investment that goes beyond commercial relationship,” the Guyanese Head of State said, noting that within the first two years, this massive initiative could see at a minimum of US$300 million being invested.

“These are the type of investment that we are pursuing, transformative investment, investment that goes beyond economics and financial returns, investment to strengthen security, integrate security, expand partnership,” President Ali said.

According to him, this could be the foundation that positions Guyana as a refined production hub.

“When you look at the numbers in a seven-year period, you’re talking about close to US 7 billion of refined fuels imported here in Guyana alone. And when you look at the numbers in CARICOM [Caribbean Community] that is about US$10 billion annually,” the President explained.

Back in January 2024, Guyana’s Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh had disclosed that the country received several proposals for the design and construction of an oil refinery.

A Request for Proposals was issued in 2022 for the design, financing and construction of the refinery at Crab Island, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

An oil refinery is an industrial processing plant where crude oil is refined into marketable petroleum products such as gasoline, asphalt, and kerosene.

With the operationalisation of a local oil refinery, Guyana would be able to supply crude-oil components to various industries for a broad range of purposes, including fuels for transportation, paving roads, and generating electricity and raw materials for chemical manufacturing.