PM outlines commitment to energy
Barbados has not given up on exploring its waters for oil and gas.
So says Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Freundel Stuart. Piloting the debate in the Lower House yesterday morning on the National Petroleum Corporation (Amend-ment) Bill, PM Stuart told the Lower House that while his Government is committed to the creation of a green economy in this country, to help reduce our heavy dependence on fossil fuels and effect “strategic changes” in the island’s energy mix, they have also not given up on offshore exploration.
“There are positive signs in our offshore acreage; that’s why we have to be very careful how we address issues like this, because we are not pronouncing against the use of fossil fuels absolutely, since we expect to be able to produce from our offshore acreage. But what we hope to be able to do, is use any profits we are able to generate from our offshore acreage to reinforce what we are trying to do here onshore in terms of the use of renewable energy and the diversification of our energy mix, in such a way that our dependence on the use of fossil fuels would not be as bias and as lopsided as it has been,” he said.
He made the point while noting that fossil fuel production locally, standing at 700 barrels per day, has not been even close to what the country needs on a day-to-day basis. As such, he explained that the country has to import fuel to get to the island’s 11 000 barrel requirement.
“So our dependence on the use of fossil fuels, as I said, is a lopsided dependence and has been a lopsided dependence for the better part of our history; and our efforts at production so we wouldn’t have to import as much as we do, those efforts have been, while not lukewarm, the results have been lukewarm since we have not been able since I think the year 1999, or there about when we had a spike in local production, to do anything significant by way of producing oil here in Barbados,” he added.
The Prime Minister’s comments came then, as he said that Government is committed to the pursuit of certain strategies in respect of the energy sector, including the intensification of efforts aimed at maximising the production of crude oil and nat-ural gas, through local production onshore and offshore. This, he stated, could involve national, regional or extra-regional sources as well as local interest in production abroad. Additionally, he said they are looking at the development and implementation of strategies which ensure continued access to adequate and reliable supplies of the product at the best prices and minimising the incidence of transactional costs across the supply chain.
“As I indicated, we are looking at diversifying the energy mix to make natural gas and other non-petroleum-based fuels, such as biodiesel and ethanol, more dominant in the economy and this all has to do with our commitment to the production and use of cleaner energy, all part of our commitment to the creation of a green economy in Barbados,” he stated.
The Prime Minister said his Government is also committed to the island-wide introduction and maintenance of energy conservation and energy efficiency measures, aimed at maximising the island’s energy uses; and the ongoing promotion and management of policies and strategies designed to ensure that renewable energy plays a progressively more significant role in the economy going forward. (JRT)