Introduction
Today’s column aims at walking readers through the Guyana Refinery Study, presented in a talk by Pedro Haas of Hartree Partners, in May this year. This study was conducted on behalf of the Ministry of Natural Resources (MoNR). The talk centred on four items, with a period left open for public discussion. Those items were 1) the strategic question, which the study sought to address; 2) a broad delineation of local and international oil market dynamics; 3) presentations on Guyana’s refinery economics; and 4) other oil related commercial options open for consideration.
Strategic question
The first item expressed the idea, the viability of which, is typically at the heart of every feasibility study: to proceed or not. That query in this context is: “given Guyana’s demand for fuels, and its oil and gas production prospects, what are the economics of investing in domestic refinery assets?” Presumably, this question is framed for a state investment; whether fully or partially state-owned is not specified.