MONTEGO BAY, St James—

Petrojam Ltd officially opened its new administrative building at its terminal located in Freeport Montego Bay earlier this month.

The construction of the building is expected to improve operations at the terminal and to better serve western Jamaica in its supply of fuel, including diesel, gasoline and jet fuel. The building is named the Howard Powell Building to honour Powell, now deceased, who began serving the company in 1996 when it started operations in western Jamaica.

Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Andrew Wheatley, in the keynote address at the official opening ceremony, stressed that the government is protecting the operations of Petrojam, adding that necessary steps are being taken to safeguard the viability of Petrojam’s assets.

“While we are currently facing some challenges, with the executive order placed on Venezuela by the United States, Petrojam has been able to provide relatively affordable supplies of oil and oil products to Jamaican consumers, even in times of volatility, thereby contributing to the competitiveness of the productive sector,” said Wheatley.

“The opening of this new facility means it will be better able to serve customers, expanded services and greater efficiencies. This is a significant step forward for Petrojam and western Jamaica,” Wheatley added.

The new facilities are equipped with offices for the supervisory staff, control room, conference room, and a ticketing office.

Richard Creary, director of Petrojam Ltd, in his address explained that the opening of the administrative building marks the culmination of a collective effort, and is part of the company’s plan to improve efficiency.

He went on to explain that the terminal is a critical part of Petrojam’s delivery infrastructure and is a major supplier of jet fuel to Sangster International Airport, and gasoline and ultra low sulphur diesel to customers in western Jamaica.

And, Floyd Grindley, general manager, Petrojam, stated that the building is evidence of their commitment to the development of Jamaica, and forms part of their ongoing efforts to improve their services to customers and to increase their share in the market.