CASTRIES, St. Lucia (AP):
ST. LUCIA CHALLENGED oil-rich Trinidad yesterday to help its Caribbean neighbours deal with skyrocketing fuel prices, rather than dissuade them from taking up Venezuela's offer of cheaper oil.
Trinidad Prime Minister Patrick Manning should "summon the will" to offer better fuel alternatives to members of the 15-nation Caribbean Community, said St. Lucia Prime Minister Kenny Anthony.
"These countries are reeling under pressure brought to bear on their economies by the volatility of oil prices, while we all have to purchase fuel from Trinidad and Tobago at world market prices," Anthony said in a statement.
Manning - whose country is the leading producer of oil, gas and petrochemicals in the Caribbean - last week advised Caribbean nations not to count on the deal with Venezuela to solve their energy needs, saying it would push private companies handling oil storage to quit the region.
CHEAPER OIL
Energy officials from the Caribbean and Venezuela agreed last August to create a new company, called PetroCaribe, that would provide cheaper oil in the region as a way to counter high crude prices and avert social unrest and economic ruin for cashstrapped Caribbean countries.
Under PetroCaribe, Caribbean nations import petroleum products under preferential terms - allowing them to pay 60 per cent of the cost while financing the rest with long-term, low-interest loans. In response to record oil prices, 13 Caribbean nations signed the deal last year.
