Caracas.– Ten countries that attended the Third Petrocaribe Summit have signed the Energy Security Treaty (EST) proposed by the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, with the purpose of strengthening the union between them through exchanges in oil technology, in order to reduce the economical and social gaps in the region.

The adhesion of these countries represents a strong backup to the Bolivarian Government policies towards guaranteeing the energy security and stability in the Caribbean, with aims to improve the people’s living standards. 

The multilateral agreement promotes the expansion of the refineries’ capabilities, and the building or improving of energy infrastructure for the shipping, reception, transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil and its byproducts. 

In that sense, the agreement contemplates a parallel development of policies and measures, so that each country will be able to dedicate 10% of their agricultural capabilities to the production of ethanol,  the building of liquefaction and regasification plants, as well as the introduction of gas in their energy matrix.

The treaty also promotes the rational use of energy, looking for maximum savings and efficiency.  To that end, it lends help to the development of petrochemical facilities, the replacement of high power consumption devices with more efficient equipment, and the use of alternative energies like wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric, among others.

The member countries are committed to the creation and strengthening of binational joint ventures, as well as to employ direct negotiations among States in order to cut off intermediaries.