GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Jun 03 2017 – The Guyana government says it will take on board all advice before making any decision on the establishment of an oil refinery here.
“We have to take on board all of the advice that is given and then at the appropriate time the minister (of Natural Resources) will bring a memorandum to Cabinet upon which we will cogitate and make a decision that is in the best interest of the people of Guyana,” Minister of State Joseph Harmon said.
Last month, Pedro Haas, Director of Advisory Services at Hartree Partners who was tasked with carrying out a feasibility study for an oil refinery in Guyana revealed that the estimated cost to construct an oil refinery would be USD$5 billion.
The feasibility study found that it would be too costly for the government to invest in an oil refinery and Harmon noted that Cabinet is still to review the findings of the study.
The consultant, who was secured through the New Petroleum Producers Group by Chatham House, said that the final results of the study showed that Guyana would be “destroying over half the value of your investment the day you commission your refinery”.
Trinidad and Tobago, the major oil producing country in the English-speaking Caribbean, has already indicated a willingness to allow Guyana to use its refinery facilities. But no decision has yet been taken by the David Granger Government.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has called on the government to make public the contract document with the US-based oil giant, ExxonMobil following the announcement by the Ministry of Natural Resources that Guyana will earn a guaranteed two percent royalty on gross production from 2020.
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