Grenada preparing for oil exploration

by Leroy Noel

Friday, March 26, 2004

ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada: The Grenada government has engaged the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation (CFTC) to provide advice as to how Grenada should proceed with awarding contracts for oil and gas explorations, as well as proceeding with delimitation negotiations.

Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries, Public Utilities and Energy Gregory Bowen, speaking at a media briefing noted that "a delimitation process will also conclude a package on how we could share the fish resources, not only oil and mineral resources."

Minister Bowen said the CFTC "has been advising us on how to proceed both with the boundary delimitations, and with what arrangements we should have with potential explorers of oil and gas in our Country."

Two CFTC experts visited Grenada earlier this month and held discussions with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries, Public Utilities and Energy and the Ministry Legal Affairs, as well as members of the Boundary Delimitation Committee.

"The discussions with CFTC are still ongoing and no contracts have been awarded to any companies to explore for oil and gas," emphasized the minister.

Discussions with several companies are underway. Minister Bowen said the arrangement that will give the best to Grenada will be considered and must feature training for Grenadians and financial support for the Ministry of Energy staff.

Minister Bowen said this would include "a trained geologist, trained mineral oil economist, trained engineers and trained technicians so that we can commence the monitoring of our oil exploration from the Government standpoint."

The contract would cover how the exploration company would share the resources with Government. 

"The company that will give the most to Government, obviously, will win the contract," Minister Bowen added. There were previous reports however that the Grenada government had entered into an agreement with an oil company from Texas.

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