Venezuela may supply Guyana with oil
Thursday, April 22, 2004
GEORGETOWN, Guyana: Venezuela may supply
neighboring Guyana with up to 10,000 barrels a day of oil and petroleum
products, with a final agreement coming as early as a month, Bloomberg News
reports. Guyanese Prime Minister Samuel Hinds
said in an interview at an energy conference in Tobago that his country will
purchase the oil under special financial terms. The amount would almost cover
all of Guyana's daily consumption, he said.
"There are just a few points to clarify,''
Hinds said. "We expect an agreement in a month or two.'' The agreement is
worth about $110 million at current market prices.
Venezuela, which is the world's
fifth-largest supplier of oil, has sought to sell more of its oil to the
Caribbean due to the proximity of markets. President Hugo Chavez made an offer
to sell Guyana oil during a state visit there in February.
Guyana would join the Caracas Energy Accord,
which allows countries to pay for 75 percent to 95 percent of Venezuelan oil
at market prices, and to finance the rest at 2 percent interest over 15 years.
Ten Central American and Caribbean countries signed the pact in October 2000.
"The agreement also provides up to a 25
percent credit when oil prices are above $30 a barrel,'' Hinds said.
The two countries have a more than 100-year
old border dispute. Venezuela claims the mineral and timber-rich Essequibo
region, which makes up about two-thirds of Guyana's territory.
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