–Dominican Republic maintains interest in partnering on establishment of local refinery, Minister Bharrat

THE possibility of regional collaboration on oil refining has resurfaced, with Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat confirming that Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago are engaged in ongoing discussions regarding the potential reopening of a refinery in the twin-island republic.

Speaking during Wednesday’s edition of The Guyana Dialogue, the minister revealed that Trinidad and Tobago’s refinery, which has been shuttered for several years, is now being considered for revival, with interest from potential investors and preliminary engagement with Guyana on crude supply.

“The refinery has been closed for a number of years now. I think it’s about probably about four to five years now… the refinery has been closed,” Bharrat said.

He noted that Trinidad is actively exploring options to restart the facility, but emphasised that significant financial input would be required before any concrete steps can be taken.

“However, Trinidad is looking at opportunities to, or the possibility rather, to reopen that refinery, to put it back into operation. It requires some amount of investment, capital investment,” he said.

According to Bharrat, at least one international company has already conducted a technical assessment of the refinery to determine the scope of work needed for its reactivation.

“I think they would have had a few companies, one from Africa that I know about, that did technical assessment of the facility to determine what is needed to put it back into operation,” he disclosed.

Central to those discussions is the issue of feedstock, specifically whether Guyana would be in a position to supply crude oil to support the refinery’s operations if it is successfully brought back into operation.

“They too have been in talks with us, more in particular to guarantee the feedstock, that is the crude,” the minister said.

The 140,000-barrel-per-day Pointe-à-Pierre refinery, formerly operated by state-owned Petrotrin, was closed in 2018 after becoming economically unviable. By early 2026, Trinidad and Tobago had been exploring a potential partnership with Guyana to revive the facility, with efforts focused on securing a reliable crude-oil supply and restoring the idle plant, which has deteriorated after years out of operation.

Despite these engagements, Bharrat made it clear that both countries remain in the preliminary stages of dialogue, with no commitments made on either side.

EARLY STAGE

“No decision yet by either Guyana or Trinidad. It is just at a stage where we are still in talks,” he stressed.

He further underscored that any firm agreement from Guyana would depend on Trinidad and Tobago first securing the necessary investment and completing the process of restoring the refinery to operational status.

“But of course, we cannot make a decision until Trinidad can put the refinery back into operation or have the investor investment to put the refinery back into operation. Only then we can make a firm decision that yes, we can supply them with crude or not,” Bharrat explained.

“But as it is now, there is no decision by Guyana or Trinidad. But yes, that was part of the discussion, or as part of the ongoing discussion rather, between the two countries,” he added.

The minister also addressed separate reports regarding potential refinery development in Guyana, particularly in relation to discussions involving the Dominican Republic.

Providing context, Bharrat pointed to a previous call by the Government of Guyana for expressions of interest (EoIs) to design, finance, build, and operate a small-scale local refinery.

“If you can recall, a few years ago, we had an EoI out for expression of interest to build, to design basically, design, build, finance, and to operate a 30,000-barrel refinery in Guyana,” he said.

That initiative attracted attention from several international players, including the Dominican Republic (DR), which has since reaffirmed its interest in partnering with Guyana.

“So, we had a number of companies and countries expressing an interest. One of those countries would have been the Dominican Republic. And they would have shown that they are serious about investment. They are serious about building a partnership between Guyana and the DR,” Bharrat noted.

He added that Dominican officials have recently reiterated their willingness to pursue such collaboration with the Government of Guyana.

“So, they would have indicated to President, Dr Irfaan Ali and the Government of Guyana that they are still interested in doing so,” he said.

Nevertheless, Bharrat cautioned that no decision has yet been taken on establishing a refinery within Guyana, as several critical infrastructural requirements must first be addressed.

“Again, we haven’t made a decision on building a refinery as yet. It’s still being examined,” he stated. Among the most significant challenges identified is the absence of a suitable deep-water port, which is essential for handling large oil tankers.

“In order to build a refinery in-country, it must be supported by a port, a deep-water port in particular. It is difficult right now to bring ships into Guyana, large ships, large vessels, mainly because of the draft for the depth of our river,” Bharrat said.

He acknowledged that while Guyana’s rivers were once believed to be sufficiently deep, recent assessments have highlighted their limitations.

“We always thought that the Demerara and Berbice rivers were deep. But today… we realise that that is one of the greatest hindrances that we are facing, the depth of our river,” he said.

“The most you can get is probably eight to nine metres. That is a high tide. And to bring in a tanker with a million barrels of crude, you would definitely need at least minimum 15 metres to get that in,” Bharrat added.

As a result, plans for a refinery in Guyana are being closely linked to broader infrastructural development, particularly in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

Moreover, the minister pointed to ongoing plans for the development of the Crab Island area in Berbice, which has been identified as a strategic location for multiple large-scale projects.

He said the area has been identified for the development of a deep-water port, a refinery pending a final decision, and the landing site for a second gas pipeline.

Bharrat said that this integrated development approach would allow Guyana to maximise its offshore resources while creating a hub for industrial expansion.

He outlined plans for a significantly larger pipeline to Berbice that would transport gas from offshore developments, enabling the expansion of industries such as data centres and a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility as part of the broader master plan for the Crab Island area.

The renewed push for a refinery has been further driven by instability in global energy markets, particularly  due to conflicts in the Middle East that disrupted supply chains. These disruptions have heightened concerns about energy security and price volatility.