Fuel Crisis

The Guyana Daily Brief – Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Good morning, Guyana. The petrol queue is long, the global situation is longer, and the news is exactly as chaotic as you’d expect from a small oil-producing nation that does not yet refine its own oil in the middle of a war over oil. Let’s get into it.

FUEL EMERGENCY: THE TANKER, THE ANCHOR, AND THE PANIC

President Ali dropped the initial explanation on Monday: a tanker’s anchor broke off, the ship had to turn back, and suddenly Georgetown looked like it was auditioning for a dystopian film. Lines stretched around the block at GUYOIL and RUBIS while SOL stations sat dry. Minibus drivers were reportedly rationed to $3,500 at the pump. People began hoarding fuel in plastic bottles — a move Prime Minister Mark Phillips gently but firmly described as a fire hazard and a very bad idea.