Guyana wants own oil refinery but keen on gas partnership with T&T – Bharrat

Though Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley says his country’s oil refinery is available for use, Guyana’s Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat says the nascent oil producer is keen on building its own refinery.

“We’re looking to build our own refinery in country.

“… We are trying to ensure that we are self-sufficient in terms of energy so that’s why we are moving towards setting up the refinery in country,” Bharrat told the News Room at the sidelines of the ongoing International Energy Conference at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown.

Already, Guyana’s government issued a Request for Proposals for a privately-owned 30,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery in Region Six (East Berbice- Corentyne). About nine proposals were submitted and the government will soon make a decision on who will design, finance and build that facility.

Bharrat said Guyana currently needs about 15,000 barrels of oil per day and with growing energy demand, it is believed that this 30,000-barrel-per-day refinery will suffice.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Rowley told the conference’s opening ceremony that his government is “exploring the market” for a user of its 140,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery.

He also talked up T&T’s expertise in the gas development sector, urging Caribbean leaders to leverage the country’s experience and facilities in the development of regional energy plans.

And Minister Bharrat said Guyana is keen on advancing natural gas cooperation with T&T and Suriname, with the aim of monetizing that resource as well.

“…Trinidad has the experience and the expertise as well too and quite honestly, we haven’t been focusing too much on gas.

“We have spent a lot of our time on oil, rightly so, because of the price of oil (but) because of the way the world is going, the demand for oil might not be long lasting but gas is seen as a transitional fuel,” Bharrat added.

Already, Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) have been inked to facilitate this collaboration among the three countries.