Guyana’s refinery plans should serve as a wake-up call for Trinidad and Tobago

Guyana’s plan to build a modern oil refinery should prompt Trinidad and Tobago to rethink its own long-discussed effort to restart the former Petrotrin facility at Pointe-a-Pierre. While Port of Spain continues to study investors, financing and crude supplies, Guyana appears ready to move beyond crude production and claim a larger role in the regional energy chain.

President Irfaan Ali has described a proposed national oil company built around a domestic refinery, expanded fuel storage and greater control over Guyana’s fuel supply. The stated aims include limiting exposure to global fuel-price shocks, securing supplies and eventually supplying the wider Caricom region.

That ambition directly affects the business case for Petrotrin’s return. Trinidad and Tobago has long viewed the refinery as a possible regional refining and fuel-supply hub. Guyana’s proposal introduces a potential competitor for the same Caribbean customers.

Guyana would also have access to abundant and growing domestic crude production. Petrotrin, by contrast, has traditionally relied heavily on imported crude. If Guyana processes more of its own oil at home, Trinidad and Tobago could lose a potentially attractive regional source of feedstock.

The age of the two facilities presents another concern. A refinery built in Guyana today could include modern technology, efficiency standards and environmental systems from the outset. Petrotrin has remained mothballed since 2018 and would require substantial investment to restart, modernize and operate. The plans therefore put pressure on both sides of the Petrotrin equation: the crude available to process and the regional buyers for its refined products.