GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Guyana's government has sought to clarify a statement made recently by President Ali regarding the establishment of a national oil company.
In a statement, Georgetown said what President Ali meant when he made reference to estabishing a national oil company is one that not be a state-run firm producing or investing in oil, but rather an entity built around a domestic refinery to bring down fuel costs and protecting Guyana from global price shocks.
“The clarification matters because Guyana, despite producing crude oil offshore, imports all of the refined gasoline and diesel used at the pump. This means every spike in global fuel prices is passed on directly to Guyanese consumers and businesses,” the statement said.
It quoted President Ali as saying “we cannot have crude oil and don’t have security of supply”.
Ali further explains that a refinery would give the country control over its own fuel supply and “some shield against shocks that are currently existing.”
“(The national oil company is) not as an investor but… one company that looks holistically at the entire ecosystem in terms of the supply,” he said when asked directly about plans for a national oil company.
The statement said Ali made it clear that the plan would also require expanding the country’s fuel storage capacity, which he said currently falls short of “the development aspirations of our country.”
Storage options being considered range from 30 to 120 days’ worth of supply with Ali indicating that longer term the refinery and expanded storage could also position Guyana as a fuel supplier to the wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region.
“We must be an important supplier in the energy market,” he said.
Guyana exported just over 260 million barrels of crude oil in 2025, generating an estimated US$17.8 billion in export earnings.
