Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo says the Government of Guyana is positioning the country to take a greater role in marketing its own crude oil, as part of a wider effort to strengthen domestic capacity in the energy sector.
Currently, Guyana’s crude is marketed through a transparent tender process, under which prequalified companies bid to handle marketing contracts. The two firms presently performing this function — BB Energy and JE Energy — are expected to complete their contracts at the end of this month.
As it stands, contracts for the country’s crude marketing span one year, with room for knowledge transfer to technical staff within the government. One of these upskilling sessions was held earlier this year with representatives from the public sector, including the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Bureau of Statistics, and the Guyana Revenue Authority, among others.
Dr. Jagdeo, at his last press conference two weeks ago, explained that this approach has helped ensure transparency and competitive returns. However, he noted that the long-term goal is for Guyana to trade its own crude eventually. “We would get a better premium if we traded our own crude,” the Vice President said during his weekly press briefing. “But that requires knowledge of the market and technical people who are well aware of the very complicated crude market.”
While such a transition will not happen overnight, the Vice President said the government is already moving in that direction. He added that the private sector could play a key role by developing expertise in crude marketing and offering related services to the government as Guyana builds its technical and institutional capacity.
The Vice President also pointed to broader efforts to encourage private investment in areas that can generate sustainable income beyond oil and gas, as part of the government’s drive towards economic diversification.
Officials have stressed the need to develop new growth poles that will sustain jobs and revenue for the long term.
“We do not want all of our eggs in the oil and gas basket,” Dr. Jagdeo said, highlighting technology-driven sectors such as data centres as examples of emerging opportunities.
He explained that the push to attract data centres aligns Guyana with a global trend in which energy-rich nations compete to host these facilities. Data centres, he said, have become strategic assets in the digital economy, giving countries a competitive advantage in innovation, connectivity, and digital services. “We do not want to be excluded,” Jagdeo urged, calling on the private sector to seize these opportunities.
The government, he emphasised, will continue to provide an enabling environment and remains receptive to investments in both the energy and technology sectors, as it works to ensure sustainable, broad-based growth for the years ahead.