(Kaieteur News) – To guard against external shocks and position Guyana for greater economic benefits from its oil industry, President Irfaan Ali has stated that Guyana must have an oil refinery, along with adequate fuel storage capacity to strengthen the country’s energy security.

During his recent press conferences, Ali underscored that there are certain factors over which governments have no control, particularly developments in the global environment and international energy markets.

“The global environment and imported inflation. Now, look at what’s happening in the global environment. We produce crude oil, but we import all refined oil, our gasoline and everything. So we import back all the price differentials. Since the war, you know what has been happening,” he noted.