Guyana wants to save big with new refined fuels deal with US company

A United States (US) company has proposed a venture in refined fuels to the Government of Guyana, a move that could vastly improve energy security and affordability in the tiny South American country.

This was announced by Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali on Tuesday during the opening ceremony of the 2025 edition of the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo.

The company is called Curlew Midstream.

“(The deal) will first fulfill national demand and then service northern Brazil and the rest of the region,” Dr. Ali said in an address focused on the emerging investment opportunities in Guyana’s energy sector.”

He added, “We are in the process now of working out the details and finalising this so that our people here in Guyana and across the region can benefit from this facility.”

He also noted that the venture could see about US$300 million being invested in the initial stages.

Subsequently, the President told reporters that the deal is still being hammered out but it is envisioned that the fuel will be refined outside of Guyana.

However, a storage facility to store the barrels of oil will be constructed here.

Outside of this venture, Guyana has been eyeing a 30,000-barrel oil refinery that would harness some of the prolific oil resources offshore.

In January 2024, the country’s Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh announced that nine proposals were submitted to the government for the design, financing and construction of a refinery.

During a State visit to the Dominican Republic in August 2023, President Ali and his counterpart, President Luis Abinader, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of an oil refinery in Guyana that could possibly refine at least 50,000 barrels of oil daily.

President Abinader, who also spoke at the opening ceremony of the conference on Tuesday, said the Dominican Republic will make the final decision on the oil refinery in the coming months.