Caribbean roundup: Financing visit, fuel competition, merger update

Suriname’s President Chandrikapersad Santokhi met with executives of Trinidad and Tobago-based Republic Bank.

“The visit to the head of state of Suriname provided an opportunity to discuss possible areas of cooperation, in particular the emerging oil and gas sector, in which the bank intends to provide its support,” a Suriname government release stated.

Vic Salickram, chairman of Republic Bank’s supervisory board in Suriname, emphasized the importance for the bank to strengthen its commitment to Suriname and its long-term growth, the release added.

Fuel competition

Barbados’ Fair Trading Commission (FTC) released findings following a complaint submitted by Barbados National Oil (BNOCL) against SOL Petroleum (Barbados).

BNOCL alleged that SOL’s actions in the storage and transport of heavy fuel oil (HFO), specifically the decommissioning of a tank and delayed repairs to a pipeline, were “injurious to the business’ operations, national security, and competition in general.”

The FTC said that HFO is an essential component in both the generation and provision of electricity to householders and businesses, and therefore, SOL’s actions are far-reaching.

SOL Petroleum (Barbados) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

FTC’s report is available in the Documents box in the top right corner.

Merger update

Trinity Exploration & Production reported that Heritage Petroleum provided written consent to Trinity's acquisition by Touchstone Exploration.

In recent days, Trinity announced that Trinidad and Tobago’s energy minister confirmed that the transaction did not require his consent.

“The acquisition remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver (where capable of being waived) of the remaining conditions,” Trinity said.