Watson

Ross Sheil, Staff Reporter

A group of Venezuelans will visit Petrojam next month as part of President Hugo Chvez's acquisition of a 49 per cent stake in the Jamaican state oil refinery and the joint expansion plan.

From PDVSA, the Venezuelan equivalent of the state-owned Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), which owns Petrojam, the group will embark on a familiarisation tour to learn about the local refinery's operations - and, of course, to improve their English, a senior PCJ employee told The Gleaner. This comes ahead of the refinery's expansion, which currently is in the design stage.

Venezuelans also make up half of a six-person board overseeing the joint venture. The Petrojam board is unaffected.

Contacted yesterday, Petrojam managing director, Dr. Winston Watson, acknowledged the Venezuelans were coming but said only that they would be here for language training.

Pay day near

PDVSA's US$63.7 million (J$43 billion) cash payment for the 49 per stake is expected within days, Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell told this newspaper last week. The expansion will increase capacity of the refinery from 35,000 to 50,000 barrels per day.

The project is slated for completion by 2011.

The joint venture is one of several involving PCJ and external partners. These include the Petrojam ethanol refinery which was refurbished and operated with partner, Brazilian firm Coimex.

Besides the PetroCaribe oil initiative, under which Venezuela supplies oil to Caribbean countries on preferential terms, Government is currently negotiating with that country to arrange a supply of liquefied natural gas. This is needed to supply the US$1 billion ((J$68 billion) expansion of the Jamalco alumina refinery - itself another joint venture, owned 50/50 between Government and the American firm Alcoa.

Further foreign involvement is expected in the energy sector with PCJ selling the Wigton Windfarm in Manchester.

ross.sheil@gleanerjm.com