Looking forward to competitive industry

While we are talking a lot about the prospects of liquefied natural gas, let me point out that LNG is only a storage and transportation medium for methane, which is what we call natural gas.

There are other mediums for storing and conveying this fuel. I want to convey to you that the Government is willing to have discussions with all parties who are interested in obtaining the appropriate licenses or permits to deliver these services within Jamaica.

We are looking forward to the creation of a robust, competitive gas industry that will attract investment, create jobs, and spur economic growth. In fact, we anticipate that the benefits of the roll-out of natural gas will accrue to several other industries, and the Government is encouraging interests across the board to take note.

REGIONAL HUB FOR NATURAL GAS

It is this Government’s intention to strategically position Jamaica as the regional hub for natural gas. This will ignite prospects in bunkering, shipping and logistics, so we are advising service providers in those industries to get ready.

There will also be opportunities for providers of professional services in areas such as law, taxation, and management, and we are encouraging practitioners and tertiary institutions to develop the expertise and modify curricula that will enable us to adequately serve the industry with local talent.

Driven by the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), our oil and gas-exploration effort has moved into high gear over the last decade. The PCJ has aggressively pursued foreign investment and sought to engage proven explorers to work within our acreage.

Under a production-sharing agreement between the Government and Tullow Oil – a proven explorer, Tullow has been carrying out work in 11 of our offshore blocks. Within the last 18 months, they conducted two rounds of 2D seismic surveys off Jamaica’s south coast.

Today, I am thrilled to announce that, based on the findings of these investigations, Tullow has recently confirmed that they will now move forward to 3D surveys. This means that the data from previous investigations has been so encouraging that the explorers now want to take a more in-depth look. This is a significant development as it marks the first time in the history of Jamaica’s oil and gs exploration programme that an explorer will carry out such detailed analysis of our offshore.

This development will no doubt send a signal to other prospective explorers that they should consider Jamaica. This will pave the way for the PCJ as it continue its drive to engage other capable explorers to take up Jamaica’s 20 available blocks.