Guyana and the Dominican Republic have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to cooperate on recruiting companies to build a 50,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Guyana that would tap the country’s oil wealth.

This MOU is among six signed by Guyanese President Dr Irfaan Ali and his Dominican counterpart, Luis Abinader, during Ali’s trip to Santo Domingo. The terms of the preliminary agreement states that the project would be at least 51 per cent owned by the DomRep government.

The Guyanese government has expressed no interest in participating as a shareholder on the project. Ali said in a message to Reuters that the DomRep is interested in receiving fuel supply from the refinery, which would improve the project’s feasibility.

“(The) Dominican Republic is also interested in exploring for oil, food production and petrochemicals,” Ali added without providing details.

The MOU’s signed on Tuesday (August 8) will create strong and significant value for both countries, ultimately positioning them as leaders in food and energy security beyond the Caribbean region.

Details of MOUs

President Ali, who is leading a high-level delegation from his country to DomRep for an official two-day visit, said the MOUs allow the states to demonstrate their “collective resolve in addressing some of the major crises our region and the world is facing today.”

The MoUs will see bilateral engagements and collaboration in areas of agriculture, tourism, and in the oil and gas industry, including the establishment of an oil refinery, a petrochemical plant and a study for participation in Guyana’s Oil Exploration Block.

President Ali emphasised that the MOUs offer prospects of tremendous value creation that will benefit the citizens of both nations.

“The value creations in these agreements are enormous. The value creation, of course, would lead to job creation. And not only the issue of job creation should be looked at in the value of jobs, but we’re talking about specialised jobs, more highly skilled jobs, that will be created out of these joint initiatives,” Ali mused.

This partnership, according to Ali will see the transfer of technology, knowledge, and the integration of markets, food systems and agriculture portfolios.