Despite global energy volatility: Guyana leads Caribbean with strategic fuel policies, planning – local economist

…as Jamaican expert commends Guyana’s long-term planning

As the Caribbean grapples with rising global energy prices, Guyana is emerging as a regional example of how strategic policies can protect citizens and stabilise domestic fuel markets.
During a panel discussion last week on Caribbean Business Review, Guyanese economist Richard Rambarran and Jamaican sustainable energy expert Sherry-Ann Farquharson explored the implications of the global energy crisis. While the conversation covered regional and global trends, Rambarran highlighted specific measures in Guyana that set the country apart.
“Guyana has set out its GuyOil Company, which acts as the market leader to tell the rest of the private downstream operations where they should go in terms of prices,” Rambarran said.

“There is never this non-cooperative or cooperative oligopoly on downstream petroleum providers about holding prices high when it really ought not to be, because GuyOil in Guyana acts as the market-stabilising force.”
He also praised the Guyana Government’s use of excise taxes to shield consumers.
“Since 2022, Guyana first moved its excise tax on fuel down from, I believe, 30 per cent. At this juncture, we’re at zero per cent, and it has remained zero per cent for the past two fiscals. That is an incredible example, I believe, for the rest of the region to follow.”
Rambarran further noted the potential for Guyana to use its sovereign wealth fund as a stabilising mechanism. A sovereign wealth fund (SWF) is a state-owned investment fund that Governments use to invest surplus revenues and other financial reserves.
“Part of the sovereign wealth fund is to help stabilise situations like this, perhaps provide even a small subsidy to fuel consumers, whether it be by way of the pump, whether it be by way of ensuring that you reach negative excise tax, and so forth. These are all levers that ought to be played with, and I don’t think Governments should…be using this time to really extract high amounts of excise tax. It will flatline economies.”
Long-term energy planning
Meanwhile, Farquharson emphasised that Guyana’s approach demonstrates the importance of long-term energy planning and fiscal prudence.
“Energy security has to be a priority from an economic standpoint,” she said. “We cannot expect that we’re going to turn this around in a matter of days, weeks, or maybe even months. It is cyclical, but we do know prices are going to go back up again. We have all of the ingredients already to make a better kind of a cake this time around.”
The discussion also shed light on Guyana’s potential role in regional energy security. Rambarran and Farquharson noted that with Suriname and other territories emerging as energy producers, Guyana’s policies and production could have concomitant benefits across the Caribbean, particularly if countries collaborate on trade and resource sharing.
According to the 2026 National Budget report presented by the finance minister, Dr Ashni Singh, in January, Guyana will continue its zero per cent excise tax on petroleum products, a measure aimed at shielding consumers from the impact of volatile global energy prices.
The Government has also prioritised projects such as the Gas-to-Energy initiative, which is expected to reduce electricity costs by up to 50 per cent, further strengthening the country’s energy security.
Since 2020, the Guyana Government had introduced a series of interventions to combat the surge in global shipping costs, including rolling back freight charges to pre-pandemic levels for calculating import duties, excise taxes, and VAT, a policy extended through 2025–2026 to relieve importers and, ultimately, consumers. Additionally, the Government has maintained a zero per cent excise tax on gasoline and diesel since March 2022 to combat rising fuel costs, down from 50 per cent in 2020.