Caracas. – President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Hugo Chávez proposed creating areas for oil refining in the Caribbean, during the Third Petrocaribe Summit of Heads of State and/or Government, in a document called “Deepening Energy Integration.”

The Venezuelan ruler suggested that one of the major issues Petrocaribe needs to approach is infrastructure, particularly in the area of oil refining, given the significance of downstream operations in the oil business. “In world market, the price difference between a processed crude oil barrel and a crude oil barrel not processed is around USD 20 per barrel. If one country processes 10,000 barrels of oil and place them in the market, it would obtain USD 150 million on a yearly basis, only for processing crude oil in its facilities and using its technology,” Chávez explained.

Consequently, the Venezuelan Head of State stressed he does not settle for dispatching oil tankers to different countries, but he would like to process oil “throughout the great Caribbean and Central American countries, and distribute processed oil under a strategic plan by creating oil refining areas.” He reminded that expansion of Cuba-based Cienfuegos refinery is under way and estimated that the facility would be inaugurated in November this year.

Regarding the progress made under Petrocaribe, President Chávez stressed that five joint ventures have been created, namely Alba Petrocaribe Belize Energy Ltd, PDV Caribe Dominica, Petrocaribe Jamaica Ltd, PDV San Kitts & Nevis Ltd, and PDV San Vincent and The Grenadines Ltd. According to Chávez, these companies should move forward to a new stage. Further, the Venezuelan ruler hailed achievements in the social area made through ALBA- Caribe Fund.