Now that Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member countries Guyana and Suriname have joined Trinidad and Tobago as bona fide oil-producing countries in a region that has, over time, had its economies stifled by high global oil prices, all eyes are now on Jamaica which would now appear to be next in line for oil-producer status.
Crunching the numbers and finding sufficiently deep investor pockets to realise that dream is never easy, however. Last week, we learnt that if Jamaica is to drill a single well in the zone believed to be the most likely to yield a commercially viable oil find , the price tag for the operation is likely to be in the region of US$35 million. At least this is what, reportedly, has been told to United Oil and Gas plc., the lead company seeking an oil find offshore Jamaica, by the British-based firm Envoi, specialists in upstream acquisition and divestment, portfolio advice, and project marketing, for the international oil and gas industry.