RESOLUTIONS No. 04.03-05
 
PREAMBLE

1. RECOGNIZING that PETROCARIBE is a true and effective integration mechanism of economic, social and political cooperation based on the principles of solidarity, complementarity and respect for sovereignty and self-determination of the peoples;

2. HIGHLIGHTING that the world’s financial crisis, the devaluation of the dollar, and the high price of food and energy at the international level are realities that have an impact on the economic and social stability of our peoples, which is the reason why there is a need to design a new formula allowing us to meet the energy and food challenges imposed by those new realities;

3. TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION the PETROCARIBE Energy Security Treaty (EST), which was signed on August 11, 2007 and stands for a comprehensive and sustained integration process aimed at contributing with energy security in the Caribbean;

4. INSPIRED by Resolution 03.02-04, adopted by the 3rd Meeting of the PETROCARIBE Ministerial Council, held in Cienfuegos, Cuba, on December 20, 2007;

The Heads of Delegation of the PETROCARIBE Ministerial Council do hereby decide:

1. To welcome the progress made by the Technical Groups set up as provided for in Resolution 03.02-04, adopted by the 3rd Meeting of the PETROCARIBE Ministerial Council, held in Cienfuegos, Cuba, on December 20, 2007.

2. To approve a portfolio of ten (10) projects, attached to this Resolution, submitted by the Technical Group on Energy Saving and Efficient Use established in the 3rd Meeting of the PETROCARIBE Ministerial Council.

3. To approve a portfolio of forty-four (44) pilot projects on Efficient use of Energy and Renewable Energy Sources, attached to this Resolution, identified in the areas of solar-thermal and solar-photovoltaic, geothermal and wind energy submitted by the Technical Group on Renewable Energies established in the 3rd Meeting of the PETROCARIBE Ministerial Council.

4. To instruct the Geothermal Energy Subgroup of the Technical Group on Renewable Energy Sources to undertake a study on the availability of drilling rigs for geothermal drilling in the Atlantic Basin, allowing for an accelerated development of the aforesaid geothermal projects.

5. To recommend the Group on Renewable Energy to conduct a study on the potentialities for the installation of hydroelectric micro power plants, allowing for an effective incorporation of this source into the matrix of primary energy in member countries, taking into account Venezuela’s experience in the area.

6. To approve the Master Plan for the Supply of Natural Gas to the Areas of the Caribbean, Central America and South America submitted by the Technical Group on Gas established in the 3rd Meeting of the PETROCARIBE Ministerial Council, which is attached to this Resolution. This Group is further instructed to present the Executive Secretariat of PETROCARIBE a specific schedule to reduce completion times of the aforementioned Plan.

7. To approve the Catalogue of Education and Training Courses, attached to this Resolution, in the areas of electric energy, refining, human resources, technical subjects and project management, submitted by the Technical Group on Education, Training and Capacity Building for Technical and Professional Staff in Energy Issues established in the 3rd Meeting of the PETROCARIBE Ministerial Council.

8. To approve the Verification and Audit Mechanism of the Supplied Volumes and the Resources from ALBA-CARIBE Fund, attached to this Resolution, submitted by the Technical Group on the Verification and Audit Mechanism established in the 3rd Meeting of the PETROCARIBE Ministerial Council.

9. To approve the PETROCARIBE Communicational Strategy submitted by the Technical Group on the Communicational Plan established in the 3rd Meeting of the PETROCARIBE Ministerial Council. This Group is further instructed to deepening into the structuring of a specific Plan, encompassing achievements and benefits derived from the Alba-Caribe Projects and allowing to strengthen communication channels among the member countries.

10. To set up a Financial Economic Working Group, headed by Guatemala, with the participation of any other member country that expresses its interest in becoming a member of this Group. This Group will be responsible for evaluating and making proposals concerning PETROCARIBE financing modalities and their implementation in respect of macroeconomic variables, as well as of the financial compensation mechanism and forms of payment with goods and services, among other. Concrete exchange proposals deriving from this evaluations will be set forth bilaterally, taking into account the existing experience.

11. To note the incorporation of the Dominican Republic and the Republic of Honduras into the Technical Group on Education, Training and Capacity Building.

12. To note the incorporation of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines into the activities of the Technical Group on Gas.

13. To support the incorporation of the Republic of Guatemala as a member country of PETROCARIBE.

14. To note the incorporation of the Republic of Suriname into the activities of the Technical Group on Renewable Energy Sources.

15. To welcome the presence of Costa Rica as an observer and extend an invitation to this country to become a full member of PETROCARIBE.

16. To recommend to the Heads of State and/or Government of PETROCARIBE the setting of a Technical Group to evaluate the issue of production, acquisition and cost of fertilizers in the Caribbean region.

Manuel Esquivel
Counselor to the Prime Minister of Belize

Marta Lomas Morales
Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation of the Republic of Cuba

Reginald Austrie
Minister of Housing, Lands and Telecommunications of the Commonwealth of Dominica,
with special responsibilities for PETROCARIBE

Vicente Bengoa
State Secretary for Treasury, of the Dominican Republic

Samuel Hinds
Prime Minister of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana

Michael Lecorps
Director General of the Monetization Office of the Republic of Haiti

Ángel Edmundo Orellana Mercado
Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Honduras

Clive Mullings
Minister of Energy of Jamaica

Emilio Rapacciolli
Minister of Energy and Mining of the Republic of Nicaragua

Earl Asim Martin
Minister of Energy of Saint Kitts and Nevis

Ralph Gonsalves
Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Gregory Rusland
Minister for Natural Resources of the Republic of Suriname

Rafael Ramirez
The People’s Minister of Energy and Petroleum of the
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela