ST. LUCIA – The PetroCaribe agreement, which is to be signed soon between Saint Lucia and Venezuela, will provide relief to the majority of St. Lucian households. That’s according to Prime Minister Dr Kenny D. Anthony.
A Venezuelan delegation led by an official of the Venezuelan state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) was in St. Lucia Thursday to meet with Prime Minister Anthony and members of the Energy Task Force led by Managing Director of the St. Lucia Electricity Services Company Limited (LUCELEC) Mr Trevor Louisy and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, Mr Louis Lewis.
The Government of Saint Lucia remains concern about the spiralling cost of fuel on the world market and has explored measures to reduce the cost of this vital resource to consumers. The negotiations have now concluded and the road is now clear for a the signing of the bilateral agreement to govern St. Lucia’s access to a cheaper source of petroleum-based energy.
In a statement following the meeting, the Prime Minister said the fuel to be received under PetroCaribe will be partly utilised to reduce the cost of electricity top the average Saint Lucian.
Dr. Anthony said cheaper electricity for Saint Lucians is an immediate goal of his government. “As far as the Government is concerned, our priority will be to try to get a cheaper fuel to LUCEEC so that they can reduce the cost of generation of of electricity.”
He said this course was being taken “because it is really the fuel surcharge that is causing a lot of the pain to ordinary citizens.” He said the dialogue held here with the PDVSA officials was part of ensuring the systems are in place to achieved the desired outcome of reducing electricity costs for Saint Lucians.
Under the terms of the bilateral agreement, a local joint company will be established with responsibility for accessing the fuel from Venezuela, as well as supplying LUCELEC with it’s requirements.
St. Lucia is signing on to the agreement after several other CARICOM countries have already implemented. Dr Anthony says it is an opportunity to learn from the experiences of other territories already benefiting from the agreement.
The Alba Fund, which is part of the PetroCaribe Fund was discussed with the visiting delegation.
Prime Minister Anthony says the fund presents the opportunity for government to access additional financing for social sector development projects.
The Government of St. Lucia has aggressively pursued funding for poverty eradication, as well as to address prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS.
The PetroCaribe agreement will provide 1,700 barrels per day of petroleum-based products, which will be stored at the Cul-De-Sac facility owned by Hess Oil (St. Lucia) Ltd.
Under PetroCaribe, the Venezuelans will provide 62% of the island’s petroleum-based energy needs.
