Trinidad & Tobago eyes Guyana’s oil to fuel Petrotrin refinery restart

Trinidad and Tobago is actively pursuing crude oil supplies from Guyana to support the reopening of its state-owned Petrotrin refinery, Energy Minister Dr. Roodal Moonilal announced in Parliament on Monday.

He said the move forms part of a broader regional strategy to deepen energy integration with Guyana and Suriname.

The Pointe-a-Pierre refinery, which has been dormant since November 2018, is a central focus of the newly elected United National Congress (UNC) administration. The administration had promised to restart operations during its 2025 general election campaign.

According to Dr. Moonilal, securing a reliable supply of crude is critical to making the refinery operational again, and Guyana is at the forefront of those plans.

“We are in discussions with government officials and the Oil and Gas Energy Chamber in Georgetown,” Moonilal said, noting that similar engagements are ongoing with Surinamese partners.

He underscored that Trinidad and Tobago, despite its century-old energy legacy and extensive infrastructure, has had limited commercial activity in Guyana and Suriname—a missed opportunity that the government is now eager to reverse.

Phoenix Park Gas Processors Limited (PPGPL), a state entity, is currently bidding to construct a gas processing facility in Guyana.

Moonilal highlighted this as a symbol of Trinidad and Tobago’s intent to become the Caribbean’s energy service hub, not by outproducing Guyana but by offering infrastructure, expertise, and investment.

Furthermore, he disclosed that Trinidad has partnered with Fulcrum LNG, a U.S. company involved in Guyana’s landmark gas project alongside ExxonMobil.

The Guyanese government selected Fulcrum to lead the development of a major gas commercialisation project aimed at monetising the country’s vast natural gas reserves.

With U.S. sanctions continuing to restrict access to Venezuelan gas, the Moonilal-led Energy Ministry is focusing on alternative regional partnerships to maintain Trinidad’s energy security.

Regarding the Petrotrin restart, the Energy Minister explained that technical, economic, and contractual evaluations must be completed before refining can commence.

A high-level expert committee, boasting over 500 years of combined industry experience, is set to be appointed to oversee the reopening process.

In the meantime, the government is paying a contractor TT$400,000 per month to maintain the refinery. Guyana’s meteoric rise in oil production further fuels Trinidad’s interest.

Since ExxonMobil’s initial discovery in 2015, the Liza 1, Liza 2, and Payara projects in the Stabroek Block now yield over 600,000 barrels of oil daily via three Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels: Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, and Prosperity.

Future developments—Yellowtail (2025), Uaru (2026), and Whiptail (2027)—are expected to add another 750,000 barrels per day, pushing Guyana’s total offshore oil output beyond 1.3 million barrels per day.

This explosive growth cements Guyana’s status as a major global oil producer and the world’s fastest-growing economy.