Chevron Withdraws Funding for Studies on Guyana's Deep-Water Port

Chevron decided not to continue funding the engineering studies for the Berbice deep-water port project in Guyana after acquiring Hess Corporation in July 2025. Hess had backed the project's preliminary engineering work, with the estimated investment ranging between US$1 billion and US$2 billion. The information was disclosed by Harry Pastuszek, Bechtel's representative in Guyana, during a trade and investment conference held in Georgetown.

According to Pastuszek, Hess funded the pre-FEED study (engineering and design work preceding the front-end engineering design stage) that Bechtel completed in 2023, under the understanding that it would continue providing funds alongside the Government in subsequent stages. Hess had allocated US$4 million to those initial studies, as reported by Demerara Waves. Following the acquisition, Chevron opted not to maintain that support; the oil company made no comment on the decision, according to MundoMaritimo. Through the US$55 billion acquisition of Hess, Chevron obtained a 30% stake in the Stabroek Block, where ExxonMobil is the majority operator with 45% and China's CNOOC holds the remaining 25%.

Despite Chevron's withdrawal, the Government of Guyana is continuing the feasibility assessment of the project under a state contract awarded to CrossBoundary Group, which is updating a study conducted around 2016 by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on the connection between northern Brazil and an Atlantic port in Guyana. In parallel, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) submitted a letter of interest to fund an engineering design study for the third phase, which according to Demerara Waves could cost around US$50 million, following a meeting in New York between Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and EXIM President John Jovanovic. Ali also reported that Qatar had expressed interest in financing the port's construction.

The project seeks to facilitate the movement of cargo from Manaus and other areas of northern Brazil to the Atlantic, taking advantage of a highway under construction between the Guyana-Brazil border, and could turn Berbice into a transshipment hub for the region. Crab Island, at the mouth of the Berbice River, and the site previously proposed by CGX as an operations base are being evaluated as possible locations. The development would also require a dedicated road of about 100 kilometers to connect the cargo with Georgetown, whose main port has a maximum draft of between 9 and 9.7 meters, depending on the source, insufficient for larger vessels. The new port would require a natural depth of between 10 and 12 meters to handle Panamax-type vessels and cargoes of up to 30,000 tons, and is expected to incorporate an industrial complex with data centers, a fertilizer plant, and a refinery.