June 28, 2006
Venezuela signs oil deal with Grenada

(AFX Europe) - "Venezuela's state oil company said that it signed an agreement with Grenada to supply 340,000 barrels of oil a year as part of a broader deal to provide crude products on preferential financial terms to Caribbean countries.

Venezuela will ship 55,000 barrels of diesel, 85,000 barrels of gasoline and 200,000 barrels of fuel oil to Grenada annually, Petróleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, said in a statement.

The two countries are discussing how the bill can be paid, and Venezuela is considering accepting partial payment in agricultural products like bananas and nutmeg, it said.

Grenada's Energy Minister Gregory Bowen was quoted as saying that the country would reinvest savings from the agreement in infrastructure, education and health.

A joint venture will oversee construction of infrastructure so that Grenada can manage oil shipments, the statement added.

The agreement is part of Venezuela's Petrocaribe oil supply program that it signed with 14 Caribbean nations last year. Haiti recently joined the group.

Under the program, the receiving countries can pay for a portion up front and finance the rest over 25 years at low interest rates and pay partially in services or goods.

Venezuela is the fifth-largest oil exporter in the world".