St. Vincent & the Grenadines is said to be among countries to be affected as Venezuela’s PDVSA (P-DA-VE-SA) said it is suspending petroleum deliveries to about half of the Caribbean countries in its PetroCaribe agreement.
The Antigua Observer quoted a report from the Venezuela Oil Ministry as saying that the move is due to falling crude production and low refinery utilization.
According to the report, PDVSA (P-DA-VE-SA) is indefinitely suspending a combined 38-thousand barrels per day of refined products deliveries to eight of the 17 countries that make up PetroCaribe; these being: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, St. Kitts & Nevis, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
However, PDVSA (P-DA-VE-SA) will continue to supply 45,600 barrels per day of refined products in June to Cuba’s Cubametales. Cuba has been one of the countries that has most benefited from the PetroCaribe agreement, receiving average deliveries from PDVSA (P-DA-VE-SA) of 95- thousand barrels per day of crude and refined products.
Under the PetroCaribe agreement, initiated in 2005, Venezuela sells petroleum to central american and Caribbean nations on favorable terms.
PDVSA (P-DA-VE-SA) has been operating its refineries below capacity because of a shortage of crude feed-stock and various unscheduled shutdowns.
