Cheaper gas lands in SVG

Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) has become the preferred choice of energy supply for many Vincentian households. And with fluctuating energy costs, getting that hot meal at home was becoming more expensive.

Residents may be pleased with a development that has taken place here. On Tuesday, December 6, 7,200 cylinders of LPG arrived in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. {{more}}Additional shipments are expected and a filling station will be set up to ensure the smooth delivery of the gas. By the time the necessary infrastructure is put in place, consumers here should have already benefited from the arrangement.

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves described it as an historic day when he spoke at the ceremony marking the arrival of the gas, just outside the Campden Park Container Port.

Docked at the pier then, was the Venezuelan vessel Los Llanos which transported the gas cylinders to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. According to Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, the arrival of the gas signaled the dawn of a new era in “South/South relations,” and the fulfilment of the Petro-Caribe agreement.

Even with the prospect of his losing office, Dr. Gonsalves was keen to put everything on the line to usher in a period of cheaper fuel.

The final storage, delivery procedure and other logistics have not yet been worked out. What was made clear however was that the 10 kilogram bottles, the equivalent of 22.2 pounds, are being sold at EC$25.

GlenGas and Energy Investments Limited is the company entrusted with the distribution of the Petro-Caribe bottles. SVG Motors, Simpson Oil Limited, and Vincentian businessman Errol Humphrey will also be part of the process.

Also at the function were Tibisay Ordenata, Venezuela’s Ambassador to SVG, Alejandro Granudo, President of Petro-Caribe, Asdrubal Chavez, Jesus Villanueva, directors of PDVSA, and Carlos Valdez, Petro Caribe’s Director of Maritime Transport.

Part of the Petro-Caribe arrangement allows participating Governments a 40 percent credit, and allows for payments to be made by bartering goods and services.