JAMAICA EXPECTS TO complete a study in May on the practicality of converting its major energy users to natural gas, Energy and Mines Minister Anthony Hylton said.
Technical and financial support could come from Japan and South Korea, Hylton said in an interview last week.
Converting to natural gas could reduce energy costs by "a minimum of 25 per cent," he said. In 2000, Jamaica spent US$688 million importing 24.4 million barrels of crude oil to domestic refineries.
Hylton said the Government had not yet determined how much the project would cost, but considered natural gas more attractive than oil because it was cheaper, more efficient, and environmentally cleaner.
In Jamaica, major users of natural gas might be the private electricity company, Jamaica Public Service Company, the bauxite/aluminium industry, and public transit, he said.
Hylton said potential natural gas suppliers would be Algeria, Colombia, Nigeria, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, and "possibly Peru and Bolivia."
Earlier this month, Hylton visited Japan and South Korea to look into the practicality of importing natural gas. Talks with technical experts and potential investors were "positive," he said, but gave no details.
As part of the feasibility study, Jamaican energy officials were studying the need for natural gas terminals, pipelines and the environmental impact, Hylton said.
We expect to complete the feasibility study by the end of May, and we'll then get back in touch with Japan and (South) Korea," Hylton said.
If the changeover goes ahead, it could be operational by around 2005, he said.
