No formal CARICOM proposal before Guyana Govt on crude oil sale – Jagdeo

Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo has confirmed that the Government of Guyana has not received any formal proposal from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) regarding the sale of Guyana’s crude oil.
His remarks follow a recent announcement that CARICOM may be seeking a deal to access Guyana’s oil resources.
Speaking during his weekly press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo clarified that while the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has provided financial support for Guyana’s crude oil exports through a facility with JE Energy Limited, there has been no CARICOM-brokered arrangement.
He also noted that past discussions with Trinidad and Tobago on possible gas cooperation were exploratory and have not materialised into formal agreements.
“So far, we have not received any joint proposal from CARICOM about the sale of our crude and then refining that crude to supply refined products to the region. There’s no such thing. So, I think maybe the president of the African Bank is saying that given we’re a producer, a major producer, that may be an option, but there’s no formal proposal before us, and if and when it’s made, we will then examine it on its merit. But right now, there is no proposal,” Jagdeo noted.
Addressing the gas sector, the VP explained that Guyana’s current gas-to-energy project will utilise all available gas resources to meet domestic needs. The first phase of the project is expected to produce 300 megawatts of power, eventually expanding to 500–600 megawatts. Plans also include a fertiliser plant designed to allow broad Guyanese participation through an inclusive shareholding structure.
Jagdeo also highlighted ongoing discussions with Suriname and key industry stakeholders, including ExxonMobil and Fulcrum Energy, to explore ways of monetising offshore associated gas reserves. Options under consideration include a floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant, onshore pipelines for industrial use, and power generation for sale to Brazil.
Trinidad and Tobago’s proposal to procure gas from Guyana for its refinery remains one of several possibilities, but no decision has been made.
On the matter of crude oil sales, Jagdeo reiterated that Guyana currently prefers to sell its crude openly on the international market to secure the best prices. While the Government is open to evaluating proposals, including the potential for discounted arrangements within CARICOM, he emphasised that such decisions would only be made based on concrete submissions.
“That is something we have to examine only when we have a specific proposal. I don’t want to deal with hypotheticals here… I just pointed out earlier about how we can get the price of refined products done in Guyana, even when we don’t refine crude, by procuring in larger quantities and investing in storage capability in the country.”
“If there is a proposal… where you may sell your crude at a particular price but then get the benefit in refined products, then that is something we are exploring. In fact, we’ve been exploring that with US companies. We’ve been exploring that with a US company where we would sell a quantity of our crude, and then they would resell us; they would refine or supply us back with the refined products at a lower cost than we are now procuring globally, which will result in a significant lower cost to our consumers here in Guyana,” he explained.
Only on Friday, ExxonMobil Guyana commenced production at Yellowtail, its fourth oil development in Guyana’s offshore Stabroek block.
Yellowtail’s ONE GUYANA floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel is now the largest production unit operating offshore with an initial production capacity of 250,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) and a storage capacity of two million barrels.
Oil produced from this FPSO will be marketed as Golden Arrowhead crude.
Starting up four months ahead of schedule, the One Guyana vessel will join the Destiny, Unity, and Prosperity FPSOs, bringing total installed capacity in Guyana to above 900,000 bpd.