The Alba PetroCaribe Belize Energy Limited (APBEL) says it has suspended the long-standing agreement with the Venezuelan state oiled company Trafigura/Puma and Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) under the PetroCaribe program.
APBEL said in a statement that the decision to suspend the program followed “consultation with the Government of Belize, Trafigura/Puma and PDVSA. APBEL has decided to “suspend purchases of petroleum products from PDVSA under the PetroCaribe Agreement with immediate effect.”
Launched in 2005
PetroCaribe is an oil alliance that several Caribbean countries have with Venezuela to purchase oil on conditions of preferential payment. The alliance was launched in 2005 and eight years later PetroCaribe agreed to links with the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), to go beyond oil and promote economic cooperation.
During the period 2007 to 2009, PVDSA delivered 457,680 barrels of refined petroleum products, valued at more than US$41 million in 15 shipments to Belize under the terms of the agreement, according to a statement posted on APBEL website.
Encountering numerous problems
APBEL said that it had been encountering a number of problems with maintaining a reliable supply of products from PDVSA. This, among other things, have resulted in much higher unit costs of freight when Puma has been forced to make last-minute arrangements to truck products overland and when vessels are brought in half-loaded.
Officials from the Government of Belize, Trafigura/Puma and Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. and APBEL are expected to meet later this month to determine the possibility of resuming supply from Venezuela in the future.
