Cienfuegos, Cuba.- The Third Meeting of Petrocaribe's Ministerial Council was held on Thursday, in advance to the Fourth Summit of Heads of State of this initiative on hemispheric energy cooperation. The meeting was attended by representatives of the 16 member states, in addition to Honduras and Barbados acting as observers.

“This meeting shows that Petrocaribe is an unprecedented, established and strong cooperation facility in the energy field,” said Minister of Energy and Petroleum and Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) Executive Director Rafael Ramírez, and noted that some countries are willing to join the system.

Ramírez reported that the progress made under Petrocaribe was reviewed. Items in the agenda included a Treaty on Reliable Energy Supply executed in Caracas, August 2007, during the Third Summit.

Delegates went also through the projects on development of energy facilities. “At the present time, the infrastructure needed for standalone storage in each country is being expanded. We have the Cienfuegos refinery, which has been revived and it is part of Petrocaribe's logistics. Since here, we will supply products to Central American nations, including Belize, Nicaragua and Honduras," said Ramírez.

A probe into projects
Other items included Petrocaribe’s increasing fuel supply for electric power generation and projects to utilize alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar power.

A study to carry compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas through pipelines and consolidate petrochemical projects was introduced.

The progress of the projects approved under the ALBA Caribe Fund was revised. This fund has allocated USD 99 million for social development. "The Petrocaribe’s scheme provides for complementation and the social field is the hub of this initiative."

The Republic of Honduras applied for membership. On Friday, during the Summit of Heads of State and/or Government, its decision would be made formal.

Minister Ramírez reported that, under Petrocaribe, 145,000 bpd of crude oil and byproducts are dispatched under Petrocaribe, including 92,000 bpd for Cuba, in accordance with the Caracas Energy Agreement. In the aggregate, 43 millions have been supplied since the agreement came into force in 2005.