Guyana nears decision on new fuel supplier following closure of Trinidad’s refinery

Last Updated on Tuesday, 2 October 2018, 10:59 by Denis Chabrol

The Guyana government is wrapping up its search for a new source of fuel supplies, following the closure of Trinidad and Tobago’s state oil refinery, Petrotrin, official said.

Public Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson told Demerara Waves Online News that Petrotrin has agreed to supply Guyana until the end of October, 2018 by which time government must find another source for gasoline, diesel, kerosene, aviation gas and cooking gas.

He said one of the options being explored is sourcing fuels from Jamaica where there is a bulk storage facility, instead of going further afield which would result in increased freight charges and longer turnaround times.

With the state-owned Guyana Oil Company being a price stabilizer in the domestic market, another decision-maker in the fuel importation process said it was important that government finds a supplier with good terms to minimise fuel price volatility.

Privately-owned fuel importing companies such as RUBIS and SOL, the official said, could buy large quantities of fuel in much bigger tankers that could distribute supplies to several countries. Most likely, those companies would be sourcing their supplies on the spot market at the best available prices on any given day.

Guyana, Grenada and a number of other Caribbean Community (Caricom) member-nations have already decided to abolish the Common External Tariff  to reduce the cost of fuels at the pumps because they have to be purchased from outside the Single Market.