Trinidad and Tobago Advances Refinery Restart, Plans Tender by Year-End

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 6, Trinidad and Tobago's Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Rudall Moonilal disclosed the latest progress on the restart plan for the Guaracara refinery located in Pointe-à-Pierre. The government is completing the legal and regulatory documents required for investor selection, plans to issue a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) by the end of 2026, and may submit the relevant restart proposal to the Cabinet for review within days, advancing the refinery—idle since 2018—into a new round of investor and operator selection procedures.

The government has received multiple expressions of interest from domestic and international investors, with the work coordinated and advanced by the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries. In his November 6 remarks, Moonilal identified the completion of legal compliance procedures as a prerequisite for advancing to the next stage of investor selection, and stated that the formal Request for Proposals will be used to determine the investment and operational arrangements for the refinery restart.

The refinery assets are managed and maintained by Guaracara Refining Company. According to assessments by the company and technical personnel relayed by Moonilal, refining operations are expected to resume within 3 to 6 months after the necessary investment funds for the restart are secured. This timeline is premised on the availability of funding and the smooth implementation of subsequent restart work, and the government plans to advance the facility's return to operation by bringing in external investors and operators.

The government has proposed that the restarted refinery will supply gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel to the Caribbean region and other export markets. Moonilal also mentioned the growing crude oil production of neighboring Guyana and potential feedstock supply channels in the surrounding Caribbean region, citing regional crude oil resources as a factor in the refinery's future operating plan.

On October 12, 2026, Trinidad and Tobago's Minister of Finance Davendranath Tanco proposed a phased restoration of operations at the Guaracara refinery in the 2027 fiscal year budget address. At that time, the government had already received the comprehensive report of the refinery restart committee and had begun evaluating shortlisted proposals from domestic and international investors, requiring that proposed transactions be commercially viable and have complete financing arrangements. The year-end tender timeline disclosed by the energy minister on this occasion advances the previous evaluation of investment proposals to the next stage of procurement procedure preparation.