GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) – Guyana says it will continue to import oil from the Trinidad-based State-owned oil company, PETROTRIN, while it still considers doing so from markets in non-Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries.

The Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) has recently approved a paper on approaches to mitigate supply disruptions and will go before Cabinet for review.

GEA’s chief executive officer, Dr Mahender Sharma, said the new approaches by GEA entail the identification of other markets that can be pursued, as well as mechanisms for improving local storage capacity.

He said upon receipt of Cabinet’s approval of the paper, the recommendations would be pursued in a bid to satisfy the country’s demand for oil.

Sharma explained that energy security concerns have been brought to the attention of the Caricom Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) and that currently, applications to purchase oil from other sources are made on a case-by-case basis following notification from PETROTRIN on the availability of supplies.

Sharma said that approval for purchasing oil outside of Caricom has to be granted by COTED and participating member states want a more proactive approach in having the Common External Tariff (CET) for selected oil products imported reduced to zero per cent.

COTED, which promotes trade and economic development of the region and oversees the operations of the Single Market and Economy (SME), is in the process of reviewing the CET and this study would inform further development in this regard.

The Trinidad and Tobago Government and PETROTRIN have committed to provide advance notice of product availability on a three-month basis, through an agreement with COTED as a means to guide short-term planning.

Guyana has, over time, experienced fuel supply disruptions from PETROTRIN resulting in the major oil companies having had to import from alternative regional and extra-regional sources. In efforts to mitigate local shortages, the Government sought waivers of the CET levied imports from outside of the region through COTED.

A government statement here said that the inconsistency in product availability due to unexpected shutdowns over the past three years has been the cause for considering alternative markets within and outside of the region.