ST. KITTS AND NEVIS now benefits from Petrocaribe, which was born on June 29th, 2005, after the Energy Cooperation Agreement signed by 14 Caribbean nations during the First Energy Meeting of Heads of State / Government of the Caribbean on Petrocaribe. Today, we are part of an integration initiative grouped by solidarity and inspired by the independence and sovereignty of our people.
If the newly elected Venezuelan National Assembly votes to cancel oil subsidies and sales to Caribbean, the United States will not be able to substitute U.S. oil for Venezuelan.
The disappearance of Petrocaribe would force the Federation to find supplies at world prices.
St. Kitts and Nevis benefits substantially from Petrocaribe. The loss of these subsidies would require us to look at our energy security and policies of the same.
Venezuela’s political opposition won a super-majority of the National Assembly in voting Sunday, its first electoral victory since Chávez came to power 17 years ago. The overwhelming margin – winning 112 of the 167 seats in Congress – will give the opposition vast power to overturn decisions made by the government of current President Nicolás Maduro, Chávez’s handpicked successor and a frequent critic of the United States.
It’s unclear if the opposition will target this subsidy program. Opposition leaders long have criticised Petrocaribe, which estimates say has cost Venezuela $50 billion in reduced oil earnings over the last decade. Last year, the country cut oil shipments to Petrocaribe nations to 200,000 barrels per day from twice that in 2012.
SKNVibes will follow this matter carefully and report on the same.
