Venezuela will begin supplying several CARICOM countries with oil as regional heads have agreed to resume the PetroCaribe agreement and have called for the end to US sanctions that brought it to an end, says Ralph Gonsalves, the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
This revelation was made last evening at the closing ceremony of CARICOM’s 43rd Regular Meeting of the Conference of the Heads of governments hosted by Suriname.
According to the Gonsalves, he struck the deal with President Nicolas Maduro ten weeks ago during a visit to Venezuela.
“A decision has been made for the resumption of [the PetroCaribe agreement] with 35% off the top up front,” said Gonsalves.
PetroCaribe is an agreement between Venezuela and some Caribbean territories to purchase oil on preferential payment conditions. The agreement, which began in 2005, allows beneficiary nations to buy oil at market value but only pay a percentage of the cost up front.
The resumption of PetroCaribe will see CARICOM calling for an end to the sanctions that were imposed on Venezuela by the U.S government.
It is unclear which countries will be getting oil supplies from Venezuela, but Gonsalves noted that PetroCaribe is favourable to Organisation of Eastern Caribbean Countries as well as others in CARICOM.
CARICOM’s decision to resume the PetroCaribe agreement, according to Gonsalves, is due to the rising prices in the energy sector. This meant that CARICOM needed to take this position to address its own urgent need for energy.
“This arrangement delivered important financing benefits to parties participating,” he noted.
The CARICOM decision comes as the US and Europe have begun to ease sanctions on Caracas including as it relates to oil purchases.
Gonsalves pointed out that CARICOM countries are not the only ones that are hoping to get their energy supplies from Venezuela as the U.S. itself has been in talks with Venezuela too.
With the agreement already in place, he says, CARICOM countries will hold talks with the US to have the sanctions lifted and hopefully, an agreement can be reached.
Gonsalves recently clashed with Washington over its decision to exclude Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua from the Summit of Americas. Gonsalves boycotted the meeting as a result.
Guyana had been a major beneficiary under the PetroCaribe which was initiated by the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. The agreement continued under his successor but deteriorating relations between Georgetown and Caracas over the border controversy between the two countries saw Guyana’s participation coming to an end. A lucrative part of the arrangement for Guyana had been the bartering of its rice for oil.
