PetroCaribe oil falls short of supply - Chavez agrees more favourable financing terms

published: Wednesday | July 16, 2008 Prime Minister Bruce Golding (left) speaks about the fifth Extraordinary PetroCaribe Summit of Heads of Government, on his arrival at the Norman Manley International Airport, Monday. The summit was held in Maracaibo, Venezuela, on Sunday. With the PM is energy minister, Clive Mullings. Caribbean countries can now retain up to 60 per cent of their oil bill with Venezuela as a long-term loan, up from the 50 per cent that the original agreement stipulated three years ago. But oil must stay above US$100 per barrel for the new terms to hold. Under the arrangement, oil importing nations will pay 40 per cent of the price of shipments within 90 days, and the rest in 25 years at one per cent interest. Prime Minister Bruce Golding said in Parliament Tuesday that Jamaica currently pays just about... [read full story]