Monique Hepburn, Staff Reporter
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (centre), makes his presentation to the PetroCaribe Summit at the Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall Hotel, Montego Bay, St. James, yesterday. Flanking him at the head table are Venezuelan Energy Minister, Raphel Ramirez Carreno (left), and Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson. - PHOTO BY HERBERT MCKENIS
WESTERN BUREAU:
HEADS OF government and missions representing 16 Caribbean countries last night concluded a one-day summit in Montego Bay, which established an agreement for Venezuela to supply them with oil on concessionary payment terms.
According to Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, under the PetroCaribe Agreement, Venezuela will not be able to sell oil below market prices because it must sell the commodity in accordance with OPEC conventions.
"Under the PetroCaribe Agreement, beneficiaries will not be receiving oil at concessionary prices," Mr. Patterson stressed while speaking to delegates during his opening address at the second PetroCaribe Summit at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
MUST SELL AT WORLD MARKET PRICE
"Within the framework of OPEC, Venezuela is not permitted to sell below world market price. We have to buy the oil from Venezuela at prevailing world market price," Mr. Patterson explained.
The Prime Minister explained that the concept behind PetroCaribe dates back to 2003 when the Government of Venezuela first presented it to the member states of the Latin American Energy Organisation (OLADE) during a meeting in Quito, Ecuador. The proposal was well received and was further embraced by the G15 leaders who met in Caracas last year to focus on South/South energy cooperation.
In his address to the summit, President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, spoke extensively about the historic and famous letter written by Venezuelan revolutionary leader, Simón Bolívar, while exiled in Jamaica 190 years ago.
"The letter is as relevant today as when Bolívar first wrote it. He had a vision for the Caribbean and Latin America," said President Chavez.
