Jamaica does not rule out going back to Venezuela for oil

Energy Minister Daryl Vaz has not ruled out a suggestion that Jamaica should re-engage Venezuela to source oil. 

In his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Gordon House Tuesday afternoon, Vaz said he took note of his Opposition counterpart's comments that Jamaica should consider sourcing the commodity from the South American oil-rich country.  

“I welcome the suggestion of my colleague and I can commit that we will have a discussion at length about the matter,” Vaz told Phillip Paulwell who shadows the energy portfolio. 

In April, Paulwell suggested that Jamaica should prepare to carry out a diplomatic dance and re-engage Venezuela at a time when oil-importing countries could soon be scrambling to find new sources of fuel as sanctions against Russia escalate because of its war on Ukraine. 

Russia is the world's third biggest producer, after the US and Saudi Arabia.

Paulwell argued that Jamaica's most reliable and logistically efficient near-shore source of crude oil and finished products is Venezuela. Jamaica currently sources both crude oil and finished product from Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, and Barbados and is making arrangements to obtain oil from Nigeria.

The relationship between Kingston and Caracas has been impacted by policy decisions locally including anti-Nicolas Maduro votes at the Organisation of American States. 

And in 2019, the Jamaican Government passed legislation to acquire Venezuela's 49 shares in Petrojam and later placed the funds in an escrow account in a bid to escape US sanctions.and 

Jamaica has also closed its embassy in Venezuela in 2020. 

Jamaica was among several CARICOM nations that participated in the energy cooperation deal PetroCaribe under which Venezuela sold oil at cheap rates. 

Meanwhile, Vaz also provided an update on Jamaica's efforts to source oil from Nigeria. 

Following discussions on the finalization of a memorandum of understanding on oil and gas cooperation between Jamaica and Nigeria in February, Vaz reported that the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources of the West African country has signalled that it was willing to sell liquid natural gas to Petrojam. 

Petrojam participated in the 4th Session of the Nigeria-Jamaica Joint Commission, which took place in Nigeria between February 22 and 24 this year. 

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