CARICOM

CARICOM SG emphasises importance of trade and economic policy implementation

CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, addressing delegates at the opening of the Forty-Seventh Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic development (COTED) at the Georgetown Marriott Hotel, Guyana, said the current uncertain international trade arena emphasises the importance of agreement on and implementation of collective trade and economic policies, most importantly, advancing the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).   The budding trade wars, the continued indeterminate nature of Brexit and the threat to the global rules-based trading system all had implications for CARICOM Member States.

“They serve to emphasise that agreement on, and implementation of, our collective trade and economic policies assume even greater importance if we are to safeguard our interests in the global arena and achieve the objective of improving the lives of our citizens.

“In that regard, the most important immediate task is to advance the implementation of our own CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). It has long been identified as the vehicle to drive us towards sustainable development and position us to take advantage of the opportunities in the international sphere.”

The implementation of the CSME is a major agenda item at the two-day Meeting. Amb. LaRocque said that even though there was progress in the regional flagship progress, more needed to be done. There is a CSME implementation plan for Member States to act on.

“The Lead Head of Government with responsibility for the CSME, Honourable Mia Mottley, the Prime Minister of Barbados and I led a mission to Haiti to hold discussions with His Excellency Jovenel Moise, President of Haiti and his cabinet and staff, on an implementation plan for Haiti’s integration to the CSME. The aim is for Haiti to put in place the requisite measures to allow for trade in goods and services commencing next year and into 2020.”

The Secretary-General also called for compliance with the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas with respect to trade and the free movement of people.

“The failure to make progress in eliminating barriers to trade has caused some to question about the utility of the work we do in this Council. I want to reiterate how important it is that we accelerate progress in the consolidation of the CSME. We must act to ensure that our constituents, the private sector and the people of the Region, are able to trade their goods and services without hindrance and to move for work or leisure. The business of the Community must not be stymied by refusal to live up to obligations”, he said.

The outcome of the discussions on the CSME will assist the deliberations at the Special CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago, 3-4 December, 2018.

Jamaica – FSRU Golar Freeze

The 125,000-cbm FSRU Golar Freeze will serve a 15-year charter for New Fortress Energy as an import facility supplying new gas-fired power plants.

Golar Freeze was previously converted into an FSRU from an LNG carrier and has a 4.9 billion cubic meters per year regasification capacity.

The start of commercial operations of the FSRU is expected during January next year, Golar LNG Partners said in its third-quarter report.

The vessel had been previously chartered by the Dubai Supply Authority (DUSUP). Golar Freeze entered Dubai Dry-docks in July for dry-dock and minor modifications necessary to service its new LNG import project offshore Jamaica.

The vessel departed dry-dock on October 20.

New Fortress Energy expanding LNG assets

New York City-based New Fortress Energy is in full swing with the development of new natural gas liquefaction and LNG import facilities.

In its filing to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it is currently developing two liquefaction facilities in Pennsylvania and plans to develop five to ten additional liquefaction facilities over the next five years.

“We expect to construct each liquefaction facility for a total cost (including ancillary logistics infrastructure) of between $750 to $850 million,” the company said in its filing noting that it believes that building smaller facilities and optimizing efficiencies will allow a faster construction.

Each of the liquefaction facilities is anticipated to produce approximately 3.6 million gallons of LNG (298,000 MMBtu) per day, or 2.15 mtpa of LNG.

“We are in advanced stages of the design, development and permitting for our first Pennsylvania facility, and we expect it to be substantially complete in the fourth quarter of 2020,” the company said.

The plant is expected to have a liquefaction capacity of approximately 3.6 million gallons of LNG per day. New Fortress Energy has already entered into a 15-year contract to acquire all of the feedgas needed to operate the plant.

The company said it is also in the process of developing a second facility in Pennsylvania and expects to begin commercial operations in the first quarter of 2021.

“We expect to have liquefaction capacity of approximately 7.3 million gallons of LNG per day after the completion of our Pennsylvania facilities,” the filing reads.

The company already has one liquefaction facility in operation, the Miami plant with a liquefaction capacity of approximately 100,000 gallons of LNG per year.

New Fortress Energy also has two import facilities in operation with three more under development.

The Montego Bay and Old Harbour facilities in Jamaica are substantially complete. The Montego Bay facility commenced commercial operations in October 2016, and is capable of processing up to 740,000 gallons of LNG per day supplying natural gas to the 145 MW gas-fired power plant operated by Jamaican Public Service Company (JPS).

The second facility in Old Harbour is substantially complete expected to commence commercial operations in the first quarter of 2019.

It is capable of processing approximately 6 million gallons of LNG per day and it is expected to supply gas to a new 190 MW Old Harbour power plant) operated by South Jamaica Power Company (JPC) under a long-term take-or-pay deal for 350,000 gallons of LNG per day.

New Fortress Energy also expects the Old Harbour terminal to supply gas to a new 94 MW power plant it is constructing, and approximately 269,000 gallons of LNG per day to the alumina refinery operated by Jamalco, an entity owned by the government of Jamaica with a focus on bauxite mining and alumina production in Jamaica.

Additionally, the company has three more similar facilities under construction in San Juan, Puerto Rico, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico and Shannon, Ireland.

Bahamas, Sweden Appointed Co-facilitators for HLPF 2019 Political Declaration

The permanent representatives of Bahamas and Sweden will serve as co-facilitators for the political declaration resulting from the two meetings of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in 2019.

In a letter to UN Member States, UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces recalls that, per the July 2016 UNGA resolution on follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda (70/299), the HLPF convenes under the auspices of both the UNGA and the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and when both sessions convene in the same year they result in “only one political declaration, covering the different and complementary functions of both sessions.”

The HLPF will convene under ECOSOC auspices from 9-18 July 2019, during which it will conduct in-depth reviews of SDGs 4 (quality education), 8 (decent work and economic growth), 10 (reduced inequalities), 13 (climate action), 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) and 17 (partnerships for the Goals), discuss the voluntary national reports (VNRs) of 51 countries, and consider the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) which is prepared every four years. In addition, the UNGA will convene a meeting of the HLPF at the level of Heads of State and Government for one-and-a-half days from 23-24 September 2019.

Belize  –  TDI-Brooks Joins Blue Hole Expedition

Roatan Institute of Deep Sea Exploration (RIDE) and Aquatica Submarines will send multiple submersibles to collect scientific data, including a complete sonar scan of the interior.

The RV Brooks McCall will provide the logistical support, hosting and launching of Aquatica’s manned submersible submarines along with providing accommodations for all crew and guests during the two-week expedition.

The Blue Hole is a 124-meters deep marine sinkhole, situated in the center of Lighthouse Reef off the coast of Belize. It is a part of the larger Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System which is a World Heritage Site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The expedition has also enlisted a team of scientists, explorers and filmmakers to share the mysteries that wait at the bottom of Belize’s Blue Hole.