Jamaica
LNG decision by year-end
By
Curtis Williams
The
Trinidad Guardian
Port
Spain
Petroleumworld.com
09 10 06
Jamaica’s
Foreign Minister Anthony Hylton has promised that
by the end of the year a decision will be taken
on the size of the LNG regasification facility to
be constructed on the Caribbean island.
In
an interview with the Guardian, Hylton said the
Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) study for
the regas terminal was almost complete and he expected
decisions to be made shortly after that.
“I
am not as intimately involved in it as I was before
but the FEED study is almost complete and when that
is finished we will be in a better position to speak
definitively on issues of the size of the regas
plant,” Hylton explained.
He
said Jamaica was committed to purchasing LNG from
T&T and the commercial arrangements including
price was being worked out.
Hylton
said; “The negotiations are going well and
I am happy with the progress we are making.”
He
admitted that T&T had raised concerns that the
American aluminium giant, Alcoa could benefit twice
from preferential natural gas prices from T&T.
Prime
Minister Patrick Manning had articulated his apprehension
over Alcoa possibly benefiting from cheap natural
gas prices for its proposed smelter in Trinidad
and also getting reduced electricity prices in Jamaica
due to preferential LNG prices.
Hylton
told the Guardian: “The Prime Minister of
T&T has publicly stated his concerns and I am
sure they are being taken into account as we try
to reach a commercial agreement. These are commercial
issues and we will be able to work them out.”
On
the issue of the exploration put out by Jamaica
Hylton said seismic surveys were being conducted
and there was increased interest in the blocks due
to the recent discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico.
He
said: “It is believed that the same trend
runs all the way to Jamaica and there is quite a
bit of interest.”
The
Trinidad Guardian
Saturday 9th September, 2006
Copyright
©2006 Trinidad Publishing Company Limited.
All Rights Reserved.
