Jamaica’s largest export in CARICOM is refined oil sold to Guyana – Minister Aubyn Hall

– says Jamaican Govt eager for more collaboration on refined oil

Despite Guyana being a major oil-producing country, Jamaica is exporting large quantities of refined petroleum to Guyana and, in the absence of an oil refinery here, the Caribbean island-state is eager to bolster this collaboration.
This is according to Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator Aubyn Hill, who led a 4th Business Mission to Guyana last week to explore investment opportunities here. During a business forum at the Marriott Hotel in Georgetown on Friday last, Minister Hall disclosed that Jamaica’s largest export within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is refined oil to Guyana.
“One of our biggest exports to CARICOM is oil to Guyana because we have a refinery and they don’t,” the Jamaica Minister stated, adding “…Jamaica has the refinery, so we’ve sold heavy diesel and all kinds of other offshoots from the refining of oil, and Guyana has been a very good customer of Jamaica.”
According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) – an online data distribution platform for international trade, Jamaica’s export of refined petroleum to Guyana was some US$53.8 million in 2023.

Speaking with Guyana Times on the sidelines of the business forum in Georgetown, Minister Hall said his country is eager to collaborate with not just Guyana but also Suriname, which will also start oil production in the coming years.
“We have had initial discussions [with the Guyana Government]. I can assure you that after the elections that you’re gonna have here on September 1, and ours will be sometime by the middle of September, those discussions will develop rapidly,” the minister noted.
“We’re looking at collaborating with Guyana and Suriname, which will also have oil coming on, to service the Caribbean.”
Meanwhile, in the absence of an oil refinery in Guyana, Jamaica is ready to capitalise on the opportunities here.
“We’re fully aware that your country, given the kind of revenues you’re pulling in from oil and the revenues you’re pulling from other sections of your economy, you’re gonna have a big, bustling refinery here but it’s gonna take time to build. You know, just to do the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) drawings and stuff will take you probably three years or so, and it would take you another bunch of years to build. But in the meantime, we can collaborate and we would want that collaboration to be really equity-driven,” the Jamaican Minister declared. Guyana, with US oil giant ExxonMobil as the operator, began producing oil on December 20, 2019, in the Stabroek Block offshore. Since then, production has been soaring, propelling Guyana into a major oil-producing country.
However, all of the light sweet crude produced here – including Guyana’s share – are being exported, mainly to be refined for various uses.
An oil refinery is an industrial processing plant where crude oil is refined into marketable petroleum products such as gasoline, asphalt, and kerosene.
The current Guyana Government has been keen on having an oil refinery established here as part of its vision of promoting value-added production, reducing fuel cost and securing energy security both for Guyana and the Caribbean.
Initially, Government had mulled the setting up of a 30,000-barrel per day oil refinery in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and a Request for Proposals was issued in 2022, for the design, finance, and construction of the refinery at Crab Island in Berbice.

Back in January 2024, Vice President (VP) Dr Bharrat Jagdeo had confirmed that Govt had received proposals from a number of interested parties and narrowed those down to five potential investors. It is unclear whether those engagements were fruitful.
Outside of that process, however, several other international partners had also expressed interest in setting up a refinery here.
Nevertheless, in the absence of a local oil refinery, President Dr Irfaan Ali had announced back in March of this year that Guyana is exploring a strategic plan to export its crude oil to the United States (US) for refining, with the aim of importing the fuel for domestic use and potential regional distribution.
According to a Reuters report, during his address at the CERAWeek conference in Houston, Texas, the Guyanese leader highlighted that while Guyana currently exports its share of profit oil through trading firms—primarily to European markets—the country does not yet have refining capabilities.
However, discussions are ongoing with private companies and the Dominican Republic regarding the construction of a small refinery to address this gap.
In February, during the opening of the 2025 Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo (GECSCE), President Ali announced a new fuel terminal infrastructure project in partnership with Curlew Midstream.
Curlew Midstream, a US-based energy infrastructure provider headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, operates terminal facilities in South Louisiana, and will play a key role in facilitating fuel trade between the US and Guyana.
The Head of State underscored the transformative impact of the agreement, which will move Guyana towards becoming “energy independent”.
“The agreement between the Government of Guyana and Curlew Midstream would enable Guyana to execute trading agreements for United States-refined fuels to be stored in a state of-the-art, local fuel storage facility that will initially house 750,000 barrels of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and heavy fuel oil.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Curlew Midstream, who shared via a release that the initiative is expected to drive down wholesale and retail fuel costs, and reduce transportation expenses for goods moving by air, road, and river.
“When operational, the facility will supply not only Guyana with 100 per cent of its domestic refined fuel needs, but will also enable Guyana to export the highest quality, non-sanctioned fuels to its sister CARICOM nations,” the US company said in a release.