Jamaica strikes $90M deal to export fuel to Trinidad and Tobago

Jamaica has resumed fuel exports to neighbouring island Trinidad and Tobago. This comes after the State-owned oil refinery Petrojam Limited through the Ministry of Energy secured a lucrative deal costing around US$90 million this year as Jamaica seeks to expand its energy exports.  

Reportedly, the first shipment left Jamaica last Sunday and was received by the neighbouring island on Wednesday. 

According to the information, Petrojam will supply around one million barrels of very low sulfur fuel oil and high sulfur fuel oil to Trinidad and Tobago under this agreement. The development was revealed by General Manager Telroy Morgan who said what is the groundbreaking aspect of this is the volume, frequency and certainly the sort of revenue and foreign exchange income to Petrojam and Jamaica. 

The agreement further states that Petrojam will ship between 60,000 and 90,000 barrels of the fuel per month to the twin-island republic for the purposes of refuelling vessels in Trinidad and Tobago waters.  

Meanwhile, Minister of Energy Daryl Vaz said that the export deal of Petrojam with Trinidad and Tobago marks a significant milestone in the island’s push to expand its energy exports and boost foreign exchange earnings.  

He said that this is a moment everyone should be proud of as once again, Jamaica has secured greater competitive advantage in the international economy by ideally positioning itself as a regional leader when it comes to non-traditional exports.  

It was further noted that the deal is anticipated to provide a major boost to export numbers of Jamaica and foreign exchange earnings. Jamaica’s exports to Trinidad and Tobago amounted US$35.91 million in 2023 while the twin-island nation’s exports to Jamaica reached totalled US$177.49 million in 2022.  

Vaz noted that the plan is to ensure that the country remains the supplier of Trinidad and Tobago with these fuels, until their refinery comes back on stream.  

General Manager Morgan further revealed plans of considering expansion of the fuel sales to other Caribbean countries and noted that Petrojam had previously shipped prodcuts to Antigua and Guyana. 

Notably, Petrojam runs a 36,000 barrels-per-day refinery in Jamaica and supplies all energy requirements of the country. It currently supplies up to 70% of the petroleum market when all products are combined.