President Irfaan Ali says Guyana’s proposed national oil company would be built around domestic refining, fuel storage and supply security rather than upstream crude-oil production or offshore investment.
The President’s explanation, reported by the Department of Public Information on August 26, provides the clearest recent indication of how the government is framing the proposed entity. It remains a policy concept rather than a fully specified operating company.
Government’s stated model
According to the government account, the proposed company would take a broad view of Guyana’s fuel-supply system. A domestic refinery would be central to that model, supported by expanded storage and distribution capacity.
DPI reported that Guyana imports the refined gasoline and diesel used domestically despite producing crude oil offshore. President Ali said that dependence leaves the country exposed to global supply disruptions and price shocks.
The government is considering storage options equivalent to between 30 and 120 days of supply. No final storage target was announced.
Refining and regional supply
President Ali presented local refining as a way to improve security of supply and provide some protection against external shocks. Those are stated policy objectives; the announcement did not provide a feasibility study or establish how much a refinery could reduce domestic fuel prices.
Over the longer term, the President said refining and additional storage could support Guyana’s ambition to supply fuel to other Caribbean Community markets. No regional supply agreements were announced.
How this relates to the earlier refinery proposal
The August 26 announcement did not explain whether the national-company concept would replace, incorporate or operate separately from the government’s earlier refinery proposal.
In 2022, the Ministry of Natural Resources invited proposals for a privately financed and privately owned refinery with capacity of 30,000 barrels per day on government-provided land near Crab Island at the mouth of the Berbice River. That procurement document stated that the government would not hold an ownership or investment interest in that project.
The newer statement did not confirm a refinery capacity, location, ownership structure, financing plan, final investment decision or construction timetable for the national-company-linked model.
What investors should watch
The next material steps would include clarification of the proposed company’s legal and ownership structure, its relationship to existing fuel importers and distributors, the refinery’s technical configuration and feedstock arrangements, environmental approvals, capital requirements and the role of private investors.
Until those details are published, the proposal should be understood as a government policy direction focused on fuel security—not as a confirmed refinery investment or construction project.
Sources: Department of Public Information, August 26, 2026; Ministry of Natural Resources refinery request for proposals, 2022.
