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Petrocaribe for Energy Infrastructure Integration: Venezuelanofficial

Posted on: Saturday, 2 July 2005, 09:00 CDT

Petrocaribe for energy infrastructure integration: Venezuelan official

CARACAS, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan Energy and Petroleum Minister Rafael Ramirez said Friday the regional oil initiative called Petrocaribe is not only an oil supply agreement but also for infrastructure integration of the Venezuelan energy sector.

"In general terms, I believe the Petrocaribe initiative can not only be seen as a supply agreement. It has to do with infrastructure integration of the energy sector," Ramirez said at a press conference.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the leaders of 13 Caribbean countries signed an agreement on Wednesday to create Petrocaribe which is a regional organization aiming to strengthen energy cooperation. It will be responsible for exporting Venezuela 's oil to the Caribbean countries cheaply and accepting payment in a more flexible form.

The accord came at the First Caribbean Energy Summit in the coastal city of Puerto la Cruz, east of the Venezuelan capital Caracas.

Ramirez said the Venezuelan government is satisfied with the result of the summit, adding that the work for the initiative started a year ago with two meetings.

He said the agreement is unprecedented in the world, and it will allow crude distribution not to be in the hands of intermediaries.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro hailed the proposal as an important step toward regional energy integration. Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago did not sign the document due to their differences.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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