Nothing, it seems, will deter Jamaica from joining the still modest CARICOM family of oil producers even as the three already “’signed up’ members”, of the wider global oil and gas community, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname continue, at their respective levels to press their respective energy sectors into becoming significant game changers for their economies.
Last week, the United Kingdom-based United Oil & Gas Limited announced that it had enlisted the Energy Consultant, Iman Hill, to bolster its engineering capabilities in the Jamaica’s offshore oil exploration. The announcement sends the most recent signal that Jamaica is not about to ‘park’ its petro dreams, leaving its economy overwhelmingly to the vagaries of tourism, agriculture and manufacturing. Jamaica’s determination to embrace an industry which, in a few short years, has radically altered Guyana’s development outlook and now appears set to do the same for Suriname, is reflected in the CARICOM member country’s refusal to separate itself from a vision of petro fortune inside its territorial waters.