Caribbean energy ministers who met in Jamaica last week with their Venezuelan counterpart have agreed to fast track an ambitious initiative designed to sell discounted oil in the region, Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller told the Bahama Journal Sunday.<\/P><\/p>\n
In their move to push their plans forward, the regional ministers plan to meet in the Bahamas \uff96 possibly Freeport \uff96 in November.<\/P><\/p>\n
Within the next 60 days, Bahamian consumers should begin to feel the impact of efforts to drive down energy costs, said Minister Miller, who recently returned from the meeting, held in the resort town of Montego Bay.<\/P><\/p>\n
\uff93Consumers throughout the region are going to benefit,\uff92 he said, adding that, \uff93We are finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.\uff92<\/P><\/p>\n
\uff93The government of Venezuela has put a number of things on the table,\uff92 Minister Miller said.<\/P><\/p>\n
Venezuela, which is the fifth largest oil exporter in the world, has proposed the establishment of PetroCaribe, an initiative aimed at offsetting fuel costs by distributing crude and refined oil products to the Caribbean at lower prices than other dealers.<\/P><\/p>\n
\uff93PetroCaribe is going to eliminate the middlemen in the economic chain with regard to the high price of fuel,\uff92 said Minister Miller, who pointed out that the average price of a gallon of gasoline is $2.86. \uff93Bahamians will see dramatic savings because of that.\uff92<\/P><\/p>\n
In addition, the Bahamas and other countries in the region plan to establish their individual National Energy Corporations which will be the local arms of the plan.<\/P><\/p>\n
\uff93Both [Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago] are going to enable all of us in this region to dramatically decrease the price of fuel for our respective countries,\uff92 Minister Miller said. \uff93I\uffb4m very excited about it and I look forward to the day very shortly when we can put in place these initiatives to enable the Bahamian people to see some appreciable savings in their energy bill.\uff92<\/P><\/p>\n
Consumers of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation are also expected to see positive results, he added.<\/P><\/p>\n
\uff93All of the countries are really hurting and the people in those countries are hurting, especially with the electricity bills \uff96 BEC bills have gone up tremendously over the summer,\uff92 the Minister said. \uff93[Consumers] will see a dramatic decrease in [the price of] gasoline and also with regard to the cost of electricity.\uff92<\/P><\/p>\n
The Minister also announced that the regional grouping of ministers have established a special committee to work closely on these initiatives and visit Venezuela to fine tune their plans.<\/P><\/p>\n
Members of the committee include representatives from the Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica.<\/P><\/p>\n
\uff93Time is of the essence,\uff92 Minister Miller said. \uff93We can\uffb4t just continue to see these prices rise and do nothing about it.\uff92<\/P><\/p>\n
When asked what the Venezuelan government is getting out the deal, he pointed out that that government \uff93has made a conscious decision that their natural resource, which is oil, should be shared.\uff92<\/P><\/p>\n
But Minister Miller also pointed out that the 14 votes that CARICOM has in the OAS are \uff93very helpful\uff92 to Venezuela. <\/P><\/p>\n
\uff93We have been assured by Venezuela that they will do more for countries in this region,\uff92 he said.<\/P><\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean\uffb4s only oil-producing country, has said it would offer some form of assistance to its neighbours in the region.<\/P><\/p>\n
Minister Miller said the government of Trinidad and Tobago has agreed to provide funding to assist countries with building fuel storage capacities.<\/P><\/p>\n
\uff93The Bahamas needs an energy policy that gives us a safeguard so that at all times we would have fuel in our country,\uff92 he said. \uff93This fund is going to assist those countries in providing the necessary storage capacities<\/P><\/p>\n
The Bahama Journal<\/B><\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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