The Caribbean Sea region performs an vital position as a petroleum processing and transshipment area, with several main refineries and independent storage facilities. Moreover, Trinidad and Tobago is becoming an more and more important provider of liquefied natural gasoline (LNG) to regional markets and to the United States.

Notice: info contained on this report is the most effective out there as of June 2003 and can change.

General BACKGROUND
The islands of the Caribbean basin, with a complete population of approximately 37 million in 2002, are predominantly web vitality importers, with the exception of hydrocarbon wealthy Trinidad and Tobago. Agriculture and pure useful resource extraction actions proceed to constitute the basis of the islands’ economies, though tourism and repair sectors are growing. In the larger economies, manufacturing is also vital, reminiscent of oil and pure gas production in Trinidad; pharmaceuticals and cement in Puerto Rico; and textiles within the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. Economic progress, nevertheless, varies throughout the area. Whereas lots of the islands’ economies contracted in 2002, Trinidad and Tobago and the Dominican Republic’s economies continued to develop, with actual gross home product (GDP) progress charges of two.6% and four.1%, respectively.

Over the previous decade, the Caribbean states have made efforts to combine their economies. The major regional group is the Caribbean Group and common Market (CARICOM), whose members include the South American states of Guyana and Suriname and the Central American State of Belize, and the Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St.Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. All other islands, with the exception of Cuba, have both affiliate or observer standing. CARICOM countries have steadily lowered tariffs among members. Moreover CARICOM, the other foremost organizations of the area include the Affiliation of Caribbean States, the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union and the associated Jap Caribbean Central Financial institution.

OIL AND Natural Gas
In 2001, the islands of the Caribbean area consumed a mixed whole of two.2 quadrillion Btu of power. Oil is the dominant gasoline, accounting for about ninety two% of total 2001 energy consumption. The Caribbean relies on imported oil for most of its vitality needs. Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica are get together to the San Jose Pact, under which Mexico and Venezuela provide crude oil and refined products below favorable terms. Natural gas and hydropower are used in nations that have these home assets. Pure gasoline is used most extensively in Trinidad and Tobago, where natural fuel-intensive industries, such as steel, fertilizer, and petrochemicals are essential to the country’s economic system. Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic import liquefied pure gasoline (LNG) from Trinidad and Tobago for power technology.

Production
Only three Caribbean countries have oil and natural fuel reserves: Barbados, Cuba, and Trinidad and Tobago. Of those, Trinidad and Tobago is the only significant exporter.

Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago is the Caribbean’s largest producer of oil and gas. In 2002, oil manufacturing averaged about 141,500 barrels per day (bbl/d), of which 121,833 bbl/d was crude oil. Crude oil reserves, at an estimated 716 million barrels, are expected to final solely another decade except new reserves are found. BP is the nation’s largest oil and gas producer. Petrotrin, the state oil company, is the second largest oil producer.

In contrast, the country’s natural gas reserves are anticipated to extend significantly in coming years. Proven pure gas reserves at present stand at 23.5 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). In 2001, the country produced 536 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas.

Trinidad and Tobago has change into one among the main pure gas improvement centers in the world. Pure gas is predicted to surpass oil as the primary income earner for the country in the near future. Based on the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Power and Energy Industries, about 36% of its natural fuel was exported in 2002 as liquefied pure gasoline (LNG), while the remainder was used domestically, significantly for ammonia and methane manufacturing. Trinidad now has 9 ammonia complexes, six methanol units, a urea plant, and an iron and steel complicated. In early 2004, the largest methanol plant in the world, Atlas, is anticipated to be completed. Atlas shall be surpassed by an excellent greater methanol project, M5000 facility, which is because of enter manufacturing in 2004. Trinidad is the world’s main exporter of both ammonia and methanol.

Exploration and Manufacturing
Each natural fuel and oil exploration actions in Trinidad and Tobago have continued at a quick pace over the past three years. During 2000-2001, British Petroleum Trinidad (BPTT) alone added greater than 6 Tcf to its personal reserves. EOG Sources (U.S.) announced in Could 2002 a new discovery in its SECC block, positioned off Trinidad’s japanese shore. The brand new discovery is predicted so as to add 250-350 Bcf of pure gasoline to the sector’s existing reserves. Repsol-YPF and BPTT found in September 2002 almost 1 Tcf within the Iron Horse discipline, positioned east of Trinidad and Tobago.

Recent Developments
The Trinidad and Tobago government granted approval in March 2003 to BHP Billiton, TotalFinaElf, and Talisman Power to proceed with the $726 million first phase improvement of the Larger Angostura mission, situated off the northeastern coast of Trinidad. Billiton estimates that the block contains up to 160 million barrels of oil and 1.75 Tcf of natural gas. It is anticipated that this field could produce 75,000 to one hundred,000 bbl/d, considerably rising the country’s crude oil production.

In April 2002, BG Worldwide, Billiton, Talisman, and TotalFinaElf signed a Manufacturing Sharing Contract (PSC) with the government for the adjacent Block 3(a). The group plans to drill two wells within the Block later this yr.

Deepwater Exploration
In 1998, Shell, BP, Arco and ExxonMobil acquired licenses to drill off the eastern coast of Trinidad in depths starting from 2,460 to four,921 ft. The 4 deepwater Blocks – 25(a), 25(b), 26 and 27 – have yet to supply oil after drilling seven wells. In March 2003, Shell returned Block 25(a) to the Trinidad authorities, after the nicely proved to be noncommercial. The Trinidad government is just not giving up hope of finding commercial deposits of oil. In June 2002, the federal government, at the side of 12 international companies, undertook a brand new seismic examine of beforehand unexplored areas with depths ranging from 5,576 to 9,480 ft.

New Licensing Round
The Trinidad and Tobago authorities plans to launch a nine-block licensing round, which is anticipated to run from Could 23 to September 30, 2003. The first two Blocks, 23(a) and 24(b), are in extremely-deep water. They are positioned close to the realm the place the government recently conducted a seismic research (mentioned above). Blocks 2(ab), three(b) and 4(a) are located in shallow waters to the east of Trinidad. Blocks 1(a) and 1(b) are west of Trinidad within the Gulf of Paria. The lastly two Blocks, 22 and 24, also positioned near 23(a) and 24(b), however will not be as deep.

Joint Area Improvement with Venezuela
Trinidad and Tobago has been in negotiations with Venezuela to develop and probably mix the two nations’ gasoline reserves in the Deltana region, positioned of the Paria Peninsula. These negotiations, nevertheless, have been positioned on hold.

Pipelines
The Trinidad and Tobago authorities plans to build an undersea natural gas pipeline throughout the jap Caribbean states. The proposed 600-mile pipeline would run north from Trinidad, connecting to different islands en route to the French island of Guadeloupe. The pipeline would serve the islands Martinique, Guadeloupe, Barbados, Grenada, St. Vincent, Grenadines, St. Lucia and Dominica. There has additionally been discussion of doubtlessly extending the pipeline to Florida.

LNG
Trinidad and Tobago is the biggest LNG exporter to the United States. The Atlantic LNG Firm of Trinidad and Tobago at the moment operates three LNG trains on the islands. The Atlantic plant is taken into account the largest single-train plant ever constructed, and the primary LNG producer in the Latin America and Caribbean area.

The plant not too long ago underwent a $1 billion growth to triple its capability from 3 million to 9 million tons per year by adding a second and third prepare. Train 2 started operation in August 2002, whereas Train 3 got here on line in April 2003. Sixty two.5% of the entire output of Trains 2/three is dedicated to the Spanish market. The remaining 37.5% is bought in the U.S. market, mainly in southeast, by way of the Elba Island Terminal and to Lake Charles. The Dominican Republic also imports LNG from Trinidad.

BP is constructing one of the world’s largest offshore gasoline processing items, the Kapok platform, as part of a $600 million mission to provide fuel to those further trains. BPTT can be constructing a 30-mile lengthy pipeline, the “Bombax”. The pipeline will feed natural gas from Kapok to Atlantic LNG’s Trains 2 and three, and to the Atlas Methanol plant. The pipeline can be one of many world’s largest, with a transport capacity 2 billion cubic toes per day (Bcf/d).

Companions of Prepare 1 are BP, BG, Repsol, Tractebel, and National Gas Firm of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC). Companions of Practice 2 and three are BP, BG and Repsol.

Extra Trains
Negotiations for the development of a fourth practice, which, based on design plans, would elevate Trinidad and Tobago’s LNG production capability to 13.Eight million tons per 12 months, are ongoing. The development of the fourth practice was originally scheduled to start by the end of 2002 and come online at the tip of 2005. The federal government has additionally indicated that it would be inquisitive about constructing a fifth and sixth prepare.

Cuba
Cuban oil manufacturing has greater than doubled since 1991. In 2002, Cuban oil production averaged forty nine,300 bbl/d while oil consumption averaged 157,000 bbl/d. Most domestic crude oil production consists of a heavy, sulfur-laden oil, which is transformed into usable gas. Refineries process imported crude oil, mainly from Venezuela and Mexico. Cuba has a monetary association with Venezuela, permitting for the sale of oil underneath preferential situations. Cuba imports 53,000 bbl/d of crude oil and refined products from Venezuela, representing approximately a third of the island’s oil demand. The contract, which was signed in October 2000, is ready to expire in 2005. Natural fuel production has additionally elevated considerably in Cuba since the early nineties. As of January 2003, confirmed pure fuel reserves stood at 2.5 Tcf.

Exploration and Manufacturing
The Cuban government plans has set a objective to generate all of its electricity demand from home crude oil assets, making the island self-sufficient in vitality. Will increase in oil and pure gasoline production already fulfill more than 50% of domestic vitality demand, in line with the Cuban government. The government has forecasted that the combined oil and pure gas manufacturing will improve by 17% in 2003.

Cuba’s territorial waters within the Gulf of Mexico are anticipated to hold probably the most promising oil prospects. In early 2000, Cuba supplied 59 offshore blocks in its deepwater financial unique zone (EEZ) for oil exploration by worldwide oil corporations. The Cuban government has awarded Repsol-YPF (Spain) and Sherrit Worldwide (Canada) blocks in the EEZ. The United States maintains an financial embargo towards Cuba, and oil firms from other countries may be subject to U.S. sanctions under the Helms-Burton Act of 1996 in the event that they conduct significant transactions in Cuba.

New Developments
Sherrit International announced in March 2003 that it plans to take a position $110 million in its oil and gasoline operations in Cuba. Petrobras of Brazil expressed interest in restarting oil exploration in Cuba after the Cuban government offered Petrobras a deep-water exploration block in Gulf of Mexico. Two years in the past, Petrobras abandoned exploration efforts in Cuba following disappointing results. Pebercan (Canada) doubled crude oil production at its Block 7 joint-venture (Sherrit) in 2002. Pebercan expects to extend its production as it brings extra wells on-line.

Barbados
Oil manufacturing for 2002 totaled 1,200 bbl/d. Oil production has declined slightly since 2001 despite efforts of Barbados Nationwide Oil Firm (BNOC) to broaden oil production. BNOC contracts with a consortium led by Triassic. As Barbados has no refining capability, its oil is refined in Trinidad, after which returned for home consumption.

Different Regional Developments
Jamaica introduced in April 2003 that it plans to restart exploration efforts off its southern coast. Jamaica expects to receive assist from Ecuador and Venezuela.U.S. firms AES Ocean LNG and El Paso and Belgium’s Tractebel have plans to construct regasification terminals within the Bahamas, from where it can be piped to Florida.If approved, AES would construct a regasification terminal at Ocean Cay within the Bahamas, together with a 54.Three-mile pipeline to Florida. The pipeline would have a capacity of 842 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d). AES has already acquired provisional permission from each the U.S. Federal Vitality Regulatory Fee (FERC) and the Bahamian authorities. Environmental impression assessments will determine whether the challenge will be capable of proceed.Tractebel, which additionally obtained approval from FERC however remains to be ready approval from Bahamian authorities, would build a LNG regasification terminal in Freeport, on Grand Bahama Island, in addition to a fifty four-mile pipeline (Calypso), with a capability of 832 Mmcf/d.El Paso has already received provisional approval from the Bahamian authorities but not yet from FERC. El Paso additionally plans to build its terminal on Grand Bahama Island. The pipeline (Seafarer) would have a capacity of 1 Bcf/d. The Bahamian authorities indicated, nevertheless, that it could solely accept two of the three proposed projects.In November 2002, the Bahamian government granted the oil firm Kerr McGee a license to drill oil in Bahamian waters.Refining
Crude oil refining capability in the Caribbean exceeds 1.7 million bbl/d. Smaller refineries are geared towards meeting native demand, while the bigger refineries in Aruba, the Netherlands Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S. Virgin Islands serve both local and export markets. The Hovensa refinery of St. Croix, owned by Hess and the Venezuelan state oil firm, PdVSA, is among the largest within the Western Hemisphere. PdVSA also operates the Curacao Isla refinery (the Netherlands Antilles), which the corporate is in technique of increasing. PdVSA is investigating the opportunity of building two new refineries within the Dominican Republic, as well as reactivating the Cienfuegos refinery in Cuba.

In August 2002, the Trinidad and Tobago authorities granted Soreco Inc. approval for the construction of a 224,000-bbl/d refinery. The refinery, the Sabaneta Refinery Project, is predicted to be completed in 2005. Nonetheless, it stays un whether or not the mission will transfer forward attributable to difficulties of securing $2 billion in loans for the challenge. U.S. vitality company El Paso plans to promote its refinery on Aruba, Coastal Aruba Refining Company, in 2003.

Storage
The Caribbean region has a number of impartial petroleum storage services, with the capability to retailer roughly one hundred million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products. In addition to lengthy-time period storage arrangements, these amenities provide logistical options for petroleum shipments. Islands with storage facilities embrace: Bahamas, Trinidad, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Aruba, and St. Eustatius, Curacao, and Bonaire of the Netherlands Antilles.

Exports to the United States
In 2002, the continental United States imported about 390,000 bbl/d of petroleum from the Caribbean, of which about 83% had been petroleum products. The U.S. Virgin Islands was the most important single regional exporter to the United States (about 236,000 bbl/d of petroleum products), followed by The Netherlands Antilles (about 74,000 bbl/d of petroleum products), and Trinidad and Tobago (80,000 bbl/d of total crude and petroleum products). Trinidad and Tobago is the one exporter of crude oil (68,000 bbl/d) from the area.

ELECTRICITY
Installed electric generating capability within the Caribbean exceeds 17 gigawatts (GW). In general, the region needs additional capacity. A number of international locations (together with the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Cuba) experience power outages frequently. Electricity demand in the region is anticipated to grow substantially in the approaching decade.

The Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic has been plagued by electricity blackouts for years. In 1999, the previous President Leonel Fernandez privatized parts of the state-owned Dominican Electricity Company (CDE) within the hope of eliminating the country’s power outage issues. However, privatization has but to assure a gradual supply of electricity to the population.

A dispute between the Dominican government and the non-public companies which acquired components of CDE in 1999 reportedly is partly chargeable for the blackouts. When CDE was break up up, Union Fenosa (Edenorte and Edesur subsidiaries) and AES (Edeeste subsidiary) purchased into the distribution network. In September 2002, the government and prospects began falling behind on their funds, leaving the non-public corporations without enough cash to pay generators. The distributors periodically stopped supplying electricity, leading to blackouts. Although current President Hipolito Mejia renegotiated contracts between the government and personal power companies in an effort to solve the nation’s power provide problems in September 2002, the state of affairs has not improved.

Regardless of the need for additional structural reform, international firms proceed to invest within the Dominican Republic’s energy infrastructure. AES Andres, a subsidiary of AES, has invested $400 million to assemble an LNG import terminal, a regasification facility, a pipeline and a 300-MW combined cycle power plant, located exterior of Santo Domingo. The LNG terminal acquired its first shipment in February 2003. Nonetheless, for the reason that 300-MW energy plant will not be accomplished until summer time 2003, the imported pure gasoline has been going to the Los Mina power plant in Santo Domingo, which AES transformed from gas oil to pure gasoline.

In April 2003, Canada signed two $35 million agreements with the Dominican government to build hydroelectric and renewable power initiatives.

Jamaica
In March 2001, the U.S.-based utility, Mirant Company, completed an 80% acquisition of previously government-owned Jamaica Public Service Company, the island’s primary power supplier. Mirant has stated that it is making progress in lowering the number of blackouts presently affecting Jamaica because of lack of capacity. Together with unbiased producers, put in capacity is seven-hundred MW, and Mirant expects to add 385 MW to the system in 2003. Last year, Jamaica made the decision to begin changing gas oil with pure gasoline for its power plants and bauxite and alumina sectors. The Jamaican authorities plans to import LNG to fulfill natural gas demand.

Puerto Rico
In January 2000, Puerto Rico’s primary electric power producer and grid operator, publicly-owned Puerto Rico Electrical Power Authority (PREPA), initiated a $2.4 billion program to increase the island’s electric era capability. Economic development within the late nineties averaged three%, leading to issues that electricity demands associated with financial progress would exceed era capacity. In response, PREPA started signing contracts with impartial energy producers (IPPs) to increase the island’s era capacity from about 4.9 GW to 5.2 GW by 2003. A brand new 454-MW energy station, constructed by U.S.-based AES, is the primary coal-fired plant in Puerto Rico. The plant has the additional good thing about with the ability to sell its steam to Phillips Petroleum’s Puerto Rico subsidiary. The EcoElectrica and AES services are part of a general plan to cut back Puerto Rico’s dependence on oil for electricity generation. In August 2000, the primary shipment of LNG from Trinidad and Tobago arrived at Punta Guayanilla, close to Ponce, where there’s an LNG receiving terminal used to produce fuel to the plant.

Renewable Power
Solely Jamaica and Cuba had significant amounts of power generated from non-hydro renewable (geothermal, solar, wind, wood and waste) electric sources in 2001. Cuba produced approximately 0.8 billion kWh of renewable energy whereas Jamaica generated 0.1 billion kWh. The Dominican Republic was the largest producer of hydroelectricity in the Caribbean, with zero.7 billion kWh. This was higher than hydropower produced by Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico mixed.

48,000
45,000
ninety three,000

Source: Oil and Gasoline Journal, December 23, 2002 and company sources.
* Supply: EIA Petroleum Supply Annual 2001. Sources for this report embrace: Enterprise News Americas; CIA World Factbook 2002; Dow Jones News wire service; Global Insight; Economist Intelligence Unit ViewsWire; Power Day; Financial Instances; Latin America Monitor; Latin American Newsletters; Lloyd’s Listing; Oil and Gasoline Journal; Oil Every day; Petroleum Economist; Worldwide Market Perception Experiences; U.S. Vitality Information Administration; Wall Road Journal; World Gasoline Intelligence; World Markets Analysis.
Links

For extra data from EIA on any country within the Caribbean, please see:
EIA Nation Information

Links to different U.S. government sites:
U.S. State Division Information on Caribbean International locations
Embassy of the United States to the Eastern Caribbean
U.S. Census BureauThe following hyperlinks are supplied solely as a service to our customers, and therefore should not be construed as advocating or reflecting any place of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) or the United States Authorities. As well as, EIA does not guarantee the content or accuracy of any info offered in linked sites.

University of the Virgin Islands Power Program and Renewable Power Institute
Renewable Power in Latin America and the Caribbean
Grenada Electricity Providers
CARILEC — The Affiliation of Electric Utilities in the Caribbean space
CARICOM – The Caribbean Community
The Group of American States
Official Home Page of the Free Commerce Area of the Americas
Caribbean Utilities Company – Cayman Islands
Jamaica Public Service Company
Dominican Republic’s Embassy within the U.S.
Trade Level Port of Spain
Petrotrin
Ministry of Energy and Vitality Industries (Trinidad and Tobago)
Atlantic LNG Company of Trinidad and Tobago
BP Trinidad and Tobago
BG Group Trinidad and Tobago
Puerto Rico Electrical Power Authority (PREPA)
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