On Wednesday, June 29th, Dominica celebrated the 11th anniversary of the Petro Caribe Energy Cooperation Agreement between Dominica and Venezuela.
The ceremony was attended by the Honourable Prime Minister, Dr Roosevelt Skerrit; His Excellency Venezuelan Ambassador to Dominica, Hayden Pirela Sanchez, and Honourable Minister for Housing and Lands, Reginald Austrie.
Other Cabinet Ministers and staff of Petro Caribe and the Venezuelan Embassy were also in attendance.
Prime Minister Skerrit said, “I believe that Petro Caribe is a true symbol of unity and integration and we must always be grateful for the efforts and leadership of President Hugo Chavez of blessed memory who was the architect of Petro Caribe.
“I want to place on public record my gratitude and that of the Government to the management and staff of Petro Caribe for the excellent manner in which you have been managing [the company]. Each of you must be personally and collectively proud of your [work]. This business was new to Dominica in many respects and you have all lived up to the expectation of the objections and mission of Petro Caribe. You must recognise that your responsibility is beyond just your job and terms of reference but you are ambassadors of Dominica making contributions to the deepening and strengthening of bilateral and multilateral relationships between the Caribbean and some Latin American countries.”
General Manager of PDV Caribe Dominica, Henry Blanco, highlighted the achievements of their nine years of operations in Dominica.
“We have expanded our LPG market and increased sales by over 50% in 2014. Very soon, we will enter the other segments of the market. We are ready to receive bulk LPG with the completion of our sphere. We continue selling LPG to our customers at the lowest prices islandwide and we are about to increase the number of beneficiaries on our social LPG programme. We have also been seriously investing in our plant to make it a state-of-the-art facility with the highest international safety standards,” he reported.
Blanco said that despite the challenges currently facing Venezuela, PDV Caribe has kept its commitment to Dominica.
He stated that the company is focused on ensuring that the agreement is fully operational.
He also divulged that the most challenging year for PDV Caribe Dominica was 2015 due to the devastation caused by Tropical Storm Erika.
“Prior to the passage of the storm, we were on the verge of completing several projects which would have strengthened our position on the market. Nonetheless, with the commitment of our staff, various teams of PDV Caribe...and the tremendous support of the Governments of Dominica and Venezuela we will rebuild stronger than before,” Blanco added.
The PDV General Manager promised continued support to sports, culture, education and social welfare.
He says through this agreement and ALBA, PDV Caribe keeps investing in the construction and renovation of ports and petro casas around the island.