Guyanese to get cheaper fuels by year-end through deal with US refinery

Last Updated on Tuesday, 18 February 2025, 23:29 by Writer

Guyanese could by the end of 2025 be purchasing fuels at lower prices after a United States company refines some of Guyana’s crude, even as the country positions itself as a “hub” to supply “non-sanctioned oil” to sister Caribbean countries, authorities said Tuesday.

President Irfaan Ali told the opening of the Guyana Energy Conference that a deal has been struck with the Arkansas-based Curlew Midstream to refine at least 30,000 barrels of crude per day for consumption locally. “You will see refined products coming into Guyana at cheaper prices and that will see us creating a hub for the rest of the region here in Guyana, initially to fulfill national demand and then expanding to serving northern Brazil and to serve the rest of the region,” he said in his address.

Dr Ali later told reporters that a US$300 million storage facility would be constructed in Guyana and, according to Curlew Midstream, that a state-of-the art depot would have a capacity of 750,o00 barrels of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and heavy fuel oil. He said the company has proposed to process by year-end “our crude” to guarantee security and sustainability of Guyana’s fossil fuel supplies.

The company said through its terminal, price-advantaged trading would result in an immediate, dramatic reduction in the wholesale and retail price of fuels that power the nation. “These cost reductions will have the further impact of reducing the costs of all goods transported by air, road and river. Additionally, the impacts of the reductions of fuel costs will be felt by businesses and households across Guyana in lower production costs of electricity generated by the burning of heavy fuel oil, prior to the completion of the massive gas-to-energy complex,” Curlew said.

In addition to the pricing benefits, the President said Guyana’s security is expected to be enhanced as a spin-off benefit. “It also adds to it, importantly, adds to our security posture because you will have American-flagged vessels,” he said.

Curlew Midstream hinted that one of the intents is to reduce the trade of smuggled fuels or those that originate from countries in which sanctions have been imposed. “When operational the facility will supply not only Guyana with 100% of its domestic refined fuel needs, but will also enable Guyana to export the highest quality, non-sanctioned fuels to its sister CARICOM nations,” the company said.

Several of Venezuela’s closest allies in CARICOM—Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Vincent and the Grenadines—had benefitted from Caracas’ cheap oil at concessionary prices under the PetroCaribe arrangement. Guyana had also in the past tapped into that facility. Venezuela had supported the establishment of fuel storage facilities in a number of those Eastern Caribbean states.