Guyana Government Locks In An Innovative Energy Security Solution

Guyana President Irfaan Ali (l) talks with Curlew Midstream executives Perry Cowart (Director of International Business Development), Stacy Duke (Executive VP) and Jay Pryor (Board Member) about the announcement of the Curlew Project in February 2025 at the Guyana Oil and Gas and Energy Convention.

Curlew Midstream

In the wake of last week’s announcement by ExxonMobil of the commencement of production from a fourth major oil development in the Stabroek area offshore Guyana, the size of the revenue stream due to the country’s government and it’s 800,000 citizens now stands to rise to as high as $10 billion annually by 2030. The magnitude of such a bounty is undeniable, but with the rapid rise in national wealth comes a responsibility to manage it in a way which maximizes the benefits to the nation.

An Innovative Solution Brings an Array of Potential Benefits

The government led by President Irfaan Ali has proven to be nimble and open to innovative ideas and solutions as the revenue stream has grown, always with an eye towards maximizing the opportunity to the benefit of Guyana and the region. One such solution the government announced recently is an arrangement with U.S. energy logistics and infrastructure provider Curlew Midstream which will avoid the need to invest in a new domestic oil refinery. Chevron recently became an ExxonMobil partner in the Stabroek field via its $53 billion acquisition of Houston-based independent Hess Corp.

In the arrangement, announced by President Ali in February’s Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo, the government plans to trade its share of the Stabroek crude production with Curlew in exchange for the refined products needed to power the Guyanese economy. Curlew will transport the crude oil to the U.S. and supply corresponding volumes of products like gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, lubricants and many other refined products back to Guyana.

Telling the Expo’s audience that he believes the new arrangement will have a “transformative impact” on Guyana’s economy, President Ali added, “It is a strategic investment that goes beyond commercial relationship…These are the types of investments that we are pursuing: Transformative investments. Investments that go beyond economics and financial returns. Investments to strengthen security, integrate security, expand partnership.”

Importantly, the U.S. Department of Commerce (USDoC) praised the plan following Ali’s announcement. On its X feed, the USDoC said the project is “a major win for the U.S. & Guyanese economies. This project shows the tremendous work for greater commercial ties & stability for the CARICOM region. We look forward to the completion of the agreement!”

Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, Curlew Midstream operates an array of storage, pipelines, and other associated infrastructure which gives it the ability to source the refined products needed from a variety of Gulf Coast refineries and plants. In a recent interview, Curlew’s Founder and CEO, Aaron Grieb, told me, “We have pipeline connectivity from our facility in Venice, Louisiana, to the entire New Orleans refining network. We also have the ability to barge products from any of those refineries.” Further east, Grieb adds that the company also has pipeline connections to Chevron’s largest domestic refinery at Pascagoula, LA.

By entering this arrangement with Curlew, Guyana stands to not only be able to supply its domestic energy needs at a potential savings as high as 20% below current prices, but also to profit from the export of excess supplies to the greater Southern Caribbean region, and even into Brazil. As a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) alliance, Guyana stands to potentially become the “gas station” for the region, with an ability to offer gas and other products at prices below the current market. Such positioning could give the Ali government and his successors more influence in the region and open up additional opportunities for beneficial trade arrangements.

A new wealth in refined products, combined with a new highway currently under construction linking the southern half of Guyana with the remote northern Brazilian province of Roraima opens up more new trade opportunities. Currently, Roraima and its capital city, Boa Vista, must obtain gasoline and other fuel needs via barges shipped hundreds of miles up the Amazon River. An ability to get the products overland from Guyana’s capital, Georgetown, will cut weeks and substantial costs out of that supply chain.

Curlew is already in the process of establishing a loading and storage terminal directly adjacent to ExxonMobil’s own port facility, the only port in the area with the ability to handle the largest class refined product vessels. The location is a key element to the project’s success.

“We’re going to go right next to them [ExxonMobil] to help justify the unit economics of being able to bring bigger ships into Guyana,” Grieb says. “We thought it was important to have a working relationship with Exxon, because they also stand to benefit from a lot of the efforts that we’re doing in country. It really is a complimentary relationship.”

For Ali’s government, the ability to exploit the country’s equity production to source its energy needs without having to invest in a new refinery brings an array of economic and environmental benefits. Building a refinery from scratch would involve the need to secure billions of dollars in investment and consume at least 7-10 years before operations could begin. Even with the most modern technologies available, refining operations come with an array of environmental concerns including potential impacts to both water and air quality. The trading arrangement with Curlew enables Guyana to satisfy its refined products needs while avoiding such complex business involvements and environmental concerns.

From Grieb’s point of view, it does more than that. “It strengthens bilateral trade between the U.S. and Guyana,” he points out. “It creates job security for Guyanese citizens. It creates an array of new industry that doesn’t exist today, and it creates additional bi-lateral trade, security and geopolitical benefits between the U.S., Guyana and CARICOM nations.”

For Guyana, Responsible Management Is Crucial

Curlew and Guyana’s government have engaged in negotiations since February’s announcement and anticipate having a final deal in place in early September. Once final, it will represent the second largest commercial deal in Guyana’s history, behind only its agreement with ExxonMobil governing the Stabroek development.

Once this innovative solution to a highly complex need is operational, Guyana stands to enjoy a level of optionality and flexibility related to its energy security needs which no other country in the region currently has, providing a clear example of responsible management of a key national asset.