The Bahamas Trade and Industry Minister, Leslie Miller appeals to the Bahamian driving public to do whatever they can to reduce their fuel consumption as the price of gasoline explodes

Minister Leslie Miller suggested that motorists in The Bahamas car pool; use smaller, more economical vehicles; use public transportation; and cut out the unnecessary driving - in the wake of increasing fuel prices

Gas Prices Skyrocket

By Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

Nassau, The Bahamas

20th September 2005

Trade and Industry Minister Leslie Miller on Monday announced a new round of gas price increases, indicating that one company has received approval to raise the cost on a gallon of gasoline to $4.77.

It would be a 76-cent per gallon increase for Shell Bahamas.

"Today, I am returning to appeal to the Bahamian driving public to do whatever they can to reduce their fuel consumption," Minister Miller said.

He suggested that motorists car pool; use smaller, more economical vehicles; use public transportation; and cut out the unnecessary driving.

"When I made these calls before many persons did not recognize the severity of this situation," he said.

The $4.77 price is the highest the cost per gallon of gasoline has ever been in New Providence, according to the Minister.

"This will push gas to well over $5 in the Family Islands," he announced.

Effective today, the price for a gallon of gasoline in New Providence will be $4.77 at Shell; $4.03 at Texaco; and $4.02 at Esso.  The price for a gallon of diesel at Shell will be $3.62; at Texaco it rises to $3.64; and at Esso it increases to $3.26.

"These increases are truly amazing, since prices in The Bahamas are going up by more than 75 cents while prices in Florida reduced by about six cents on the weekend," the Minister said.

"It was also interesting to see that in France Total SA (The French Oil Company) recently pledged to pass reductions in prices to consumers within a few days, and to wait longer to pass on increases in order to protect the consumers from spikes.

"It was also interesting to note that the French Minister was unable to get any firm commitment from the foreign oil companies who were present at the meeting to assist with the prices or to invest more in refineries to help to rectify this situation."

On Monday, the Associated Press reported that crude-oil futures surged more than $4 – the biggest one-day price jump ever – amid worries that Tropical Storm Rita strengthening off The Bahamas could hit U.S. oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico later this week, striking another blow at an industry struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina.

The swells in crude, heating oil and gasoline futures came as OPEC ministers met to discuss how to relieve price pressures in the oil market and expressed concern that Rita would bear down on the hurricane-ravaged U.S. Gulf Coast, the AP said.

In The Bahamas, there has been a steady rise in fuel costs this year, which has also translated into a steady increase in the fuel surcharges of electricity bills.

The latest round of bad news comes as Minister Miller continues to push the PetroCaribe initiative.

Through the deal, Venezuela has agreed to provide fuel and fuel-related products cheaply to the region.

Minister Miller has said that it would mean huge savings on electricity bills and at the gas pumps.

He recently told The Bahama Journal, "We’re looking at an average savings of no less than $6 per barrel which equates to approximately in our estimation anywhere from 25 cents to 30 cents on a gallon of fuel.

"That’s the initial cost.  Bear in mind that the oil companies here use their brokerage companies, in Barbados and Jamaica and elsewhere, to purchase fuel from PDVSA, which is where we’re going to get our fuel.

"By eliminating the middlemen, we save another 25 cents to 35 cents on a gallon of fuel.  In addition to that, PetroCaribe is now in a position by having ships to lift the fuel for you.  In other words, PetroCaribe would send one of its ships to The Bahamas full of fuel emanating from any of the terminals owned by PDVSA, which is the national oil company of Venezuela, thereby saving an additional 5 cents to 10 cents on a gallon of fuel."

The Bahamas Minister of Trade and Industry, Leslie Miller says His Focus is On The Establishment of a National Energy Corporation (NEC)

The National Energy Corporation, NEC is essential to The Bahamas government’s plan to ensure that cheaper fuel reaches consumers through the PetroCaribe initiative

Miller: Nat’l Energy Corp. By September

By Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

Nassau, The Bahamas

21st July 2005

Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller yesterday again dismissed claims that he did not have the full support of Cabinet in signing the regional PetroCaribe oil agreement and indicated that he was focused on seeing to it that a National Energy Corporation (NEC) is up and running by September.

The NEC is essential to the government’s plan to ensure that cheaper fuel reaches consumers through the PetroCaribe initiative, he reiterated.

The Minister said that before the NEC can get off the ground, the government must first receive a report from the fuel usage committee it established several months ago.  The committee is co-chaired by Vincent Coleby, a long-time petroleum industry executive, and Independent Member of Parliament for St. Margaret Pierre Dupuch.

Minister Miller said he plans to meet today with the committee, which is looking into all aspects of PetroCaribe and fuel usage in the country.

Mr. Dupuch hinted in an interview with The Bahama Journal yesterday that the committee intends to fully back the PetroCaribe initiative, clearing the way for the NEC to be established.

"This would mean for The Bahamas extremely low oil prices," he said. "It would translate into lower electricity costs and it could translate into lower costs for the people on the road driving cars."

Minister Miller said, "I would expect that the National Energy Corporation would be incorporated as early as September to enable BEC to be the first recipient of getting cheaper fuel from Venezuela through PDVSA (that country’s national energy company) and Curacao, which is the same entity that provides the same importers in The Bahamas with 85 percent of their fuel as we speak."

He claimed again that BEC would immediately realize an annual savings of $10 million to $15 million.

The Minister said despite fears, the new arrangement should not force the three major oil companies in The Bahamas – Shell, Esso, and Texaco – to face any dramatic changes.

"What will happen because we are lifting the fuel ourselves, we would then on-sell the fuel to Shell, Esso and Texaco," he explained.  "[We’ll] give everyone a reasonable margin upon which to work in and the Bahamian people will see the benefits."

According to Minister Miller, the National Energy Corporation would not be an elaborate set-up and could easily be managed by about four people from his Ministry.

"It’s just the movement of paper," he said.  "This will not be a regular government corporation.  It could in fact be just a National Energy Agency."

Asked how Venezuela will benefit from the agreement, Minister Miller said Venezuela is not going out on a limb in this deal.

"It is simply trying to assist the countries in this region by lowering the cost of fuel to their citizens.  It’s no different from what other countries have done and continue to do."

He was also asked to respond to ongoing speculation that he signed the PetroCaribe agreement without the full backing of the Cabinet.

Minister Miller suggested that this was all part of a conspiracy to keep poor Bahamians from progressing.

"Generally, the people who are against this project are basically the same people who have been against any progressive action that was taken by any relevant government since the PLP came to power in 1967 to work on behalf of the majority of the Bahamian people, especially the small man," he said.

"They’ve been against majority rule; they’ve been against independence - and they will be against anything that benefits the majority of Bahamians and I pay no attention to them whatsoever."

In signing the PetroCaribe agreement, The Bahamas and other signatories acknowledged that, "Within the context of an unfair economic order inherited from colonialism, and imposed by the wealthy developed - and rich countries, the current global energy-related trends marked by the enormous waste of consumer societies, by the reduced availability of production capacities and by speculation leading to the rise in hydrocarbon prices, have all continuously exerted a negative impact on both the economic performance of, and the social conditions in the countries of the Caribbean."

The agreement also states that the countries of the Caribbean need to possess reliable sources of energy and must be assured that prices will not represent an obstacle to their development.

It says that PetroCaribe is a body aimed at facilitating the development of energy policies and plans for the integration of the nations of the Caribbean through the sovereign use of natural energy resources to directly benefit their peoples.

Following the signing of the agreement, some local executives of the three major oil companies in The Bahamas said that they would like to see more consultation on the whole plan as they did not have specifics on how PetroCaribe will actually work.

Minister Miller said that consultation would swing into high gear after he receives the report of the fuel usage committee.

The Bahamas Signs Petrocaribe Initiative

The primary thrust of the initiative, known as Petrocaribe, is to eliminate the middlemen when it comes to the purchase of fuel and fuel-related products

Oil Deal Sealed

By Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

Nassau, The Bahamas

1st July 2005

Bahamian consumers are expected to soon experience significant savings on energy costs as a result of a new deal sealed in Venezuela on Wednesday night, which is designed “to build a regional oil alliance and distribute fuel more cheaply in the Caribbean.”

Minutes after arriving from a high-powered energy summit in Puerto La Cruz on Thursday, Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller declared that the agreement was a significant and historic one.

He also explained that the primary thrust of the initiative, known as Petrocaribe, is to eliminate the middlemen when it comes to the purchase of fuel and fuel-related products.

One of the ways Venezuela proposes to keep oil costs down in the region is to use its tanker fleet to transport oil instead of privately owned tankers.

"For The Bahamas, [The Bahamas Electricity Corporation] can realize a savings of no less than $10 million to $15 million per annum in their fuel costs," Minister Miller told The Bahama Journal.

In addition to that, BEC, which last year spent in excess of US$100 million for its fuel costs, can now get the benefit of getting 40 percent of the fuel on credit from Petrocaribe, he said.

"BEC can get rebates on fuel and at tremendous savings," Minister Miller said.

"If BEC were to purchase $20 million worth of fuel per month, BEC would pay approximately 60 percent of that bill.

The balance can be paid over a specified period of time at 1 percent interest rate."

With the middlemen being sliced out of the pie, the Minister also reported that huge savings are on tap at the gas pumps.

His announcement came as motorists continued to face prices approaching the $4 per gallon mark.

"We’re looking at an average savings of no less than $6 per barrel which equates to approximately in our estimation anywhere from 25 cents to 30 cents on a gallon of fuel," he said.  "That’s the initial cost.  Bear in mind that the oil companies here use their brokerage companies, in Barbados and Jamaica and elsewhere, to purchase fuel from PDVSA, which is where we’re going to get our fuel from.

"By eliminating the middlemen, we save another 25 cents to 35 cents on a gallon of fuel.  In addition to that, Petrocaribe is now in a position by having ships to lift the fuel for you.  In other words, Petrocaribe would send one of its ships to The Bahamas full of fuel emanating from any of the terminals owned by PDVSA, which is the national oil company of Venezuela, thereby saving an additional 5 cents to 10 cents on a gallon of fuel."

Altogether, he claimed the average consumer can look for a savings of anywhere from 65 cents to $1 per gallon on the price of fuel in The Bahamas.

The Minister added, "Keep in mind that we still need to cut the margins by the three major oil companies that import fuel into our country from a high of 33 cents down to around 25 cents to 15 cents per gallon, which is more than enough to enable them to make an appreciable profit margin."

But Minister Miller could not say specifically when the savings will begin to materialize.  He told The Bahama Journal that it will happen as soon as the government gives the green light for the establishment of a national energy corporation.

"The prices at the pumps could be decreased significantly, but we must initiate the national energy corporation to enable us to lift fuel from Venezuela," he said.

Heads of state and energy ministers attended the energy summit from The Bahamas and 14 other nations in the region.

They included Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Cuba, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago.

The final agreement said, "Petrocaribe emerges as a new political and commercial initiative based on the conservation of non-renewal and depleteable resources, shared solidarity, and social co-responsibility between peoples, tending to assure access to energy at a just and reasonable price, under the sign of regional energy integration, with a broad vision that touches not only on energy, but also on the social, technological, and culture."

Among those attending the meeting were Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and Cuban President Fidel Castro.