Barbados holding talks with Trinidad on natural gas

Barbados is in talks with Trinidad and Tobago to buy natural gas from its Caricom partner.

Chairman of the National Petroleum Corporation (NPC), Sir Harcourt Lewis, said the gas would be pumped through a pipeline on the seabed and was designed to meet future energy needs in Barbados.

He said this step was part of the medium-term development strategy of Barbados, and would play a vital part in the further development of this country.

"It is projected that the volume of natural gas, which we hope to be here by 2014, will influence the price of energy downwards, whether it is a direct purchase from NPC or a feedstock to electrical generation through the Barbados Light and Power Company Limited."

Sir Harcourt said that NPC currently purchases in excess of 1.2 million cubic feet of natural gas from the Barbados National Oil Company Limited (BNOC) to supply the needs of its customers.

He said that on average, the usage by domestic customers had decreased over the years from 23 cubic metres per month in 1978 to 11.1 cubic metres per month in 2011.

However, he pointed out that for the same period commercial consumption had increased from 364 cubic metres to 921 cubic metres this year.

"Recently, the Division of Energy in the Office of the Prime Minister has launched several initiatives that promote the use of renewable energy. Natural gas is not a renewable fuel, but it is considered to be a greening fuel."

Natural gas produces fewer emissions than diesel "and actually has a very significant role in the Clean Development Mechanisms in many countries," he said

Sir Harcourt said he hopes in the future to see fleets of buses powered by natural gas and more hotels using it to power their air-conditioning units.

He has also promised to continue to work with the Energy Division and the BNOC to reduce energy costs, ensure energy security and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.