BARBADOS, TRINIDAD and Tobago and other Caribbean countries are seeking changes to Venezuela's oil offer to the region so it does not conflict with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) arrangements.
Although Barbados has not signed the controversial PetroCaribe oil deal, taken by a dozen neighbours, it has teamed up with Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago to lobby for a remake of the agreement.
Barbados' Prime Minister Owen Arthur announced the plan Thursday after talks at Sandy Lane Hotel with T&T Prime Minister Patrick Manning and Jamaica's Prime Minister P.J. Patterson.
CLOSED-DOOR TALKS
Manning and Patterson visited Barbados for closed-door talks on the oil deal as well as preparations for the emerging CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
Arthur said Manning would soon be taking a proposal to Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez seeking the kind of deal for the region that would not run counter to the terms or spirit of the CARICOM treaty.
Arthur hinted that Barbados and Jamaica were aiming to get Trinidad and Tobago to play a greater role in the PetroCaribe arrangement, importing crude from Venezuela, refining it and passing it on to Caribbean nations.
"I feel that both Trinidad and Venezuela should be part of the deal," he told journalists. "And, quite frankly, if people want to help us with energy at a time when energy costs are rising and will continue to rise, I think people should join together and collaborate in trying to help the region rather than people having separate arrangements."
Arthur said Barbados could not just "walk away" from a relationship with Trinidad, which processes Barbados crude oil.
