Dear Editor,

The Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica has been featured in various news items over the past few months under not very pleasant circumstances. As a former consultant for the corporation, I know that there are several highly competent and loyal professionals who have worked for the institution in an effort to do their part in developing the energy economy in Jamaica.

Notwithstanding this, however, the corporation has seen better days and is now sailing along without a chairman, with the recent resignation of Kathryn Phipps and the offer rejection by Don Wehby of GraceKennedy. The corporation is also without a permanent group managing director, and also recently released its deputy GMD.

Changes such as these typically come with introspection, and a corporation that is charged with developing any country’s energy polices and directing a path forward for growth in this sector, must take the time necessary to implement effective strategies and relevant changes.

This may be such a watershed moment not only for the PCJ, but also for the country. The recent announcement that the Government “is prepared to reduce its remaining interest through the direct sale of shares to PDVSA or other potential investment partners”, should allow the parent company PCJ, the time it needs to realign many of its objectives. A look at the corporation’s website shows that there are four main companies which fall under the PCJ umbrella. These are Petrojam – the main income earner, Petrojam Ethanol Limited, Petcom, and Wigton Wind Farm.

Recent media reports have suggested that Petcom has been struggling for many years to achieve sustained profitability under varying management teams. Wigton is still fairly new, and expanding and the fortunes of Petrojam Ethanol have varied in recent years.

The corporation is also charged with exploring for fossil fuels in Jamaica, and developing renewable energy sources in an economical and country-appropriate manner.

Governments throughout the world have had limited success in owning and managing energy or petroleum companies, or both — without significant private sector involvement. The Government of Jamaica now has a golden opportunity to chart a course forward for the PCJ that could significantly change the employment and investment landscape in the energy sector.

I would like to suggest that the Government consider divesting all the entities of the PCJ. If the entities are packaged and structured properly for monetisation, the Government may be able to realise a fairly significant amount of FDI and locally generated capital, which can be used to help the country achieve many of its economic goals. However, I would also suggest that a substantial portion of any funds realised be placed in an energy development fund within the Ministry of Energy. These funds would be used to provide financial support for small to medium-sized businesses which wish to develop the renewable energy sector. Similar funds in the Department of Energy in the United States have been used to support successfully entrepreneurship and innovation in the renewable and energy efficiency industry. Many companies that have grown in this sector have indicated that without grant and venture capital support from the government, they would not have been able to achieve successes today.

The renewable energy sector in Jamaica is still underdeveloped, but has the potential to employ significant numbers of people, and radically transform the way we do business, in everything ranging from the manufacturing to the transport sector.

With the recent contraction of the bauxite industry in Jamaica, a number of the major players in this sector have indicated that there is a need to radically reduce the cost of energy, and with the vast amount of land available to the industry, there may be some possibility for them to benefit from investments in biofuels.

My suggestion is to have a team, possibly headed by Aubyn Hill who was able to achieve successes with the divestment of the sugar factories, drive a vigorous divestment of the entities, and chart a way forward for the funding of entrepreneurship and innovation in the energy industry.

This could be a significant opportunity for the country.

Wayne Williams

Mandeville, Manchester

wayne8@hotmail.com