KINGSTON, Jamaica — Petrojam Limited is seeking to assure the public that all efforts are being made to ensure uninterrupted fuel supply during the Russia-Ukraine war.

According to a release, Petrojam’s general manager Winston Watson says current supply arrangements remain intact and that the refinery is actively pursuing additional suppliers.

He shared that despite the global vagaries with supply and demand of crude and finished products during this extremely challenging period, Petrojam is making every effort to ensure fuel supply to the country is available at the most competitive prices. 

“During these types of geopolitical events, smaller countries such as Jamaica may experience greater challenges in sourcing both crude oil and refined products.  However, we are sparing no efforts to ensure that we have access to reliable crude and product supply,” Watson said.

He further stated that a team from the refinery is currently in the United States attending the annual American Fuel Petrochemical Manufacturers conference to meet with oil traders and other National Oil Companies to secure additional options/contracts for both crude oil and refined products.

“Currently, the refinery sources crude from Petrobas in Brazil and from Colombia and Ecuador. Small quantities of crude are also purchased from Barbados. However, since this Ukraine crisis, the refinery has reached out to other countries in the region including Guyana and Argentina, to secure additional options for crude oil, and is currently in dialogue withPetroEcuador (Ecuador) and Ecopetrol (Colombia) to establish term supply agreements,” the general manager informed.

It was also disclosed that Petrojam is in dialogue with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to secure a term arrangement to source approximately four million barrels of crude oil per annum. The Refinery says it also has existing term contracts in place with current and alternative suppliers of refined products.

Commenting on the refinery’s storage capabilities, Watson said that Petrojam has additional crude oil storage in St Eustatius, where up to one million barrels of crude oil can be stored and then shipped to Petrojam in required quantities for processing.

Alternative storage arrangements are also being explored.

Petrojam Limited, Jamaica’s sole oil refinery, commemorates 40 years of service to Jamaica this year. The company, which commenced operations in 1982, following the Government’s purchase of the refinery from ESSO, reliably supplies the full range of petroleum products to the market, through a mix of refining and importation.

Citing the importance of Petrojam Limited to Jamaica’s energy security, Watson highlighted that global events such as these underscore the benefit of having a refinery, especially as an island nation.

“In times of conflict or natural disasters, crude is always easier to source than finished products. Petrojam’s refining capabilities gives us an advantage in meeting local energy demand,” he explained.

The Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Honorable Daryl Vaz recently updated Cabinet and the National Partnership Council on Petrojam’s efforts to ensure uninterrupted fuel supply.

Last week, Vaz gave assurances that the war in Eastern Europe is not expected to interrupt energy supplies to the island even though he can do little about prices “without first consulting with the Cabinet and the Ministry of Finance”.

Vaz, who was speaking during a meeting of Parliament’s standing finance committee, said the island has adequate supplies of fuel and is cutting new deals to secure more supplies for the island.

“Jamaica has three to four weeks reserves’ supply of finished products and six weeks of crude,” he said in prepared notes ahead of questions from his parliamentary colleagues. “This situation is being actively monitored and our supply chain is not in jeopardy,” he added.

READ: No need to panic – Energy Minister Daryl Vaz gives assurances over Jamaica’s access to fuel