Introduction
As indicated last week, today’s column initiates a presentation in the coming weeks, of my considered view on the efficacy of Guyana establishing a local oil refinery, in order to exhaust successfully the potential benefits of its recent oil and gas discoveries. After the completion of this task, I would then have one final topic left to address, 
before wrapping up this rather extended discussion on the coming time of Guyana’s oil and gas industry, which indeed commenced almost a year ago (September 4, 2016). That next topic will deal with the revenue and other fiscal features related to the production arrangements surrounding Guyana’s first oil.
Local oil refinery
Because of its enormous significance, it is crucial for this initial column to delineate clearly what is intended when I refer to a ‘local refinery’, in Guyana’s context. This is because the ownership, management, and operational characteristics, define the nature of a local refinery. These characteristics can take varied forms. And, for each of these variations, I would hold very different positions and therefore, make different recommendations.