The prospect of Guyanese crude being refined in Trinidad and Tobago has emerged as the cornerstone of a high-stakes energy blueprint unveiled by Guyana’s President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali.
Proposing the potential reactivation of idle refining capacity, Ali confirmed his intention to engage the T&T Government directly on a collaboration that would see Guyana’s raw resources fuel Trinidadian infrastructure. This strategic shift aims to transform legacy industrial assets into a regional monetisation engine, signalling a move away from independent operations towards a deeply integrated downstream partnership.
Speaking to the Sunday Business Guardian, as well as to a room of top business stakeholders and bankers at the annual business meeting and outlook for 2026/2027 hosted by the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce at the Hyatt Regency on Friday, Ali framed this integration as a non-negotiable response to a shifting global market.
He argued that the era of hesitation must end, as the economic cost of delay grows increasingly steep, calling for a disciplined, private-sector-led integration of cross-border gas and refinery assets.
Central to this blueprint is the potential reactivation of T&T’s idle refining capacity to process Guyanese crude.
Ali confirmed that he is prepared to engage the T&T Government directly to discuss a strategy that would see Guyanese light sweet crude flow into Trinidadian refineries, effectively turning a legacy industrial burden into a regional asset.
“I will be meeting with the Government,” he said when asked directly about refinery collaboration.
This move signals a departure from the “export-only” model, aiming instead to monetise resources within the CARICOM space and insulate the region from global price shocks and supply chain vulnerabilities.
The President’s vision extended beyond oil, highlighting a “cross-border gas architecture” designed to lead to total regional energy integration.
By linking the gas reserves of the Guyana-Suriname Basin with Trinidad and Tobago’s established downstream infrastructure, Ali believes the two nations could create a new investment corridor that competes on a global scale.
He emphasised that this transition cannot be driven by governments alone; it requires a private sector capable of rapid, disciplined execution to capitalise on these new synergies before the window of opportunity closes.
Ali’s willingness to explore refining Guyanese crude in T&T places renewed focus on the country’s dormant refinery assets. While no structure has been finalised, the signal is clear: upstream growth in Guyana is now large enough to support regional downstream integration.
“The President is considering investing in Trinidad’s refinery to refine some of Guyana’s oil,” he said.
The strategic case rests on proximity, existing infrastructure, and the potential to create value-added exports rather than raw crude flows, as Ali also acknowledged the structural weaknesses that have historically undermined refining in the region.
“There is the potential for refining oil from land; they should allow it to be what they call the refining tragedy. It’s happening now,” he said.
The remark underscores a hard reality: refining economics are unforgiving, and without scale, efficiency, and consistent feedstock, projects fail. Ali’s framing suggests that a Guyana–Trinidad link could address some of those constraints, but only if executed with discipline and aligned incentives.
Cross-border gas must lead
Ali’s argument is not incremental; it is structural, as he is pushing for a reordering of how energy is produced, moved, and monetised across borders, with gas infrastructure acting as the anchor. That approach sits against tightening global competition, where scale, efficiency, and integration determine viability. In that context, he warned that legacy thinking that treats oil and gas as standalone export commodities will not hold.
“We have to have a holistic view of the energy sector. I don’t believe that we should look at energy in the narrow form of oil and gas refining and selling. We have to look at how we deploy our energy assets to build a diversified economy, to build strong economies, and to create more opportunities,” Ali stressed.
The President also noted that this position extends to how gas is used—not simply exported, but embedded into industrial policy, manufacturing, and long-term economic diversification. The logic is straightforward: energy is leverage, not an end product.
The implication for T&T is immediate, he said. With mature gas infrastructure but tightening supply, and Guyana holding rapidly expanding upstream reserves, the alignment is commercially obvious but politically and operationally complex. Ali’s position is that the complexity must be confronted, not deferred.
“I’m ready. I can say I’m ready. It is needed. We all know it is needed. It is critically needed,” he said, referencing the proposed high-level engagement on cross-border energy collaboration.
Venezuela tension, dialogue still on the table
Ali also addressed regional tensions involving acting President Delcy Rodríguez, making it clear that while geopolitical friction persists, dialogue remains necessary.
“I believe in dialogue. We have explained what the challenge is. The minister volunteers in the dialogue,” he said, adding that engagement must be structured and timely.
The reference comes at a moment of heightened sensitivity around cross-border energy activity and territorial claims. While Ali did not escalate rhetoric, his position was firm: issues must be ventilated and addressed directly.
“And once those views are expressed and they are ventilated, the next step is to ensure that we continue that model that brings us closer together and allows us to leverage the opportunities among each other,” he said.
Private sector must re-engineer or fall behind
Ali’s most direct criticism was reserved for the region’s private sector, which he argued has been too comfortable operating within protected, inward-looking frameworks.
“If Guyana and T&T are to present a partnership that is meaningful, compelling, innovative, and capable of propelling our people to high levels of prosperity, we must have the discipline, the commitment, the maturity, and the will to make the necessary changes to advance this agenda,” he said.
He pointed to inefficiencies that continue to undermine competitiveness, from basic border processes to energy pricing distortions.
“This agenda cannot be advanced by ordinary citizens spending hours passing through basic immigration and customs. This partnership cannot be advanced by complaints about having power for industrial development at six cents per kilowatt, because it will not be competitive in the real world when the average price is 16 cents per kilowatt,” Ali explained.
“We have to re-engineer our businesses for the real world, real competition, and practical business realities,” he added.
Capital, strategy and missed opportunities
The President also drew a sharp contrast between how resource-rich countries deploy sovereign wealth and how Caribbean economies have historically managed capital. He pointed to models where energy revenues are used to secure long-term strategic positions—through global acquisitions, infrastructure, or human capital—rather than short-term fiscal stabilisation.
“Take away a few of the large companies. Where are our strategic investments? Where are the investments that guarantee food security, regional energy security, and climate security?” he asked.
The critique extends to missed opportunities. He referenced past offers for regional agricultural investment that were not taken up and questioned why capital-rich firms did not expand outward when conditions were favourable.
“We have so much liquidity in the system, and still many of the island states are looking for capital for long-term power purchase agreements on renewables,” he said.
Exploration continues, but integration is the test
On upstream activity, Ali confirmed that exploration remains active, with major international players already engaged.
“We have exploration going on with QatarEnergy, Petronas, and one other entity. Exploration is ongoing,” he said.
However, he made it clear that exploration alone is not the benchmark; the true test is whether production translates into integrated economic expansion.
“If you are solving the known, you’re not doing anything exciting. In every equation, solving the unknown is where excitement lies,” he said.
He indicated that this extends to trade routes, investment patterns, and industrial policy, and that the region has been too slow to pivot.
“So we know one trade route all our lives, and we did not examine another. It’s time for us, perhaps, to look in other directions and see what we can accomplish.”
Future-proofing beyond subsidies
Ali closed with a warning against policy complacency, particularly the reliance on subsidies as a substitute for structural reform.
“We cannot future-proof our economies by believing that subsidies are the answer. We must do so by investing in the economy of the future,” he said.
That future, in his view, is anchored in integrated energy systems, cross-border industrial linkages, and disciplined capital deployment. (Trinidad and Tobago Guardian)
