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Monday, July 17, 2006
As oil prices hit all time highs on the world market, consumers in Antigua and Barbuda may see some relief , thanks to PetroCaribe deal recently brokered between Antigua & Barbuda and Venezuela. may offer local consumers hope for relief from escalating fuel costs. Antigua & Barbuda signed the PetroCaribe Sales and Supply Agreement when officials including Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, met with a delegation from Venezuela led by Dr. Alejandro Granados, Granados is vice president of the Venezuelan fuel company Petroleos de Venzuela SA, (PDVSA) and also the President of PDV Caribe, which will facilitate the PetroCaribe initiative Under the agreement, fuel will be sold to Antigua & Barbuda at the international market price, but the government will only be required to pay 60 per cent of the cost of the fuel up front. The rest can be repaid over 23 years at the nominal interest rate of one per cent. It also allows a two year grace period before the payments must begin. According to Granados, the agreement will allow Antigua & Barbuda to purchase up to a million barrels of fuel from Venezuela per year. He said that Venezuela has also begun talks with Antigua & Barbuda to provide assistance in the construction of any necessary infrastructure necessitated by the agreement.
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