This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINGSTON 002661 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR (WBENT), EB/ESC/IEC/EPC (MCMANUS,ESSER) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/06/2015 
TAGS: EPET ENRG ECON PREL JM
SUBJECT: PETROCARIBE - SENIOR GOJ ENERGY OFFICIAL REJECTS 
POSSIBILITY IT COULD BE USED TO MANIPULATE JAMAICA 
 
REF: A. KINGSTON 2495 
 
     ¶B. KINGSTON 2026 
     ¶C. POWELL/NICHOLS 8/29/05 E-MAIL 
     ¶D. KINGSTON 2083 
 
Classified By: Charge Thomas C. Tighe for reasons 1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 
¶1. (SBU) In a chance meeting at a function on December 1, 
Econoff discussed the PetroCaribe accord informally with Jean 
Dixon, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Commerce, 
Science and Technology (MCST, which also handles energy 
issues).  Dixon was positive about the benefits that would 
accrue to Jamaica from PetroCaribe, and was dismissive of USG 
concerns about potential pitfalls.  She noted that the GOJ 
was moving slowly and deliberately in its decisions on how to 
use the funds that would become available due to deferred 
financing, in part to allay Opposition Jamaica Labour Party 
(JLP) concerns that the governing People,s National Party 
(PNP) would be tempted to spend irresponsibly in the run-up 
to the general elections set to take place prior to October 
¶2007.  She spoke briefly of a USD 10 million fund that will 
be designed to loan capital to small businesses that make use 
of alternative energy technologies and practice sound energy 
conservation strategies.  Officials from the Energy 
Efficiency Unit at MCST stated, however, that this fund was 
still in the earliest stages of planning, and that it was not 
expected to be operational until 2006. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Dixon opined that the USG was overly concerned about 
PetroCaribe as an instrument for Venezuelan President Hugo 
Chavez to exercise political leverage in the region.  Jamaica 
has a strong history of operating independently in the 
political arena, she noted, and would not be forced to act or 
vote in any particular manner simply to ensure a smooth 
relationship with other nations. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Addressing concerns about relying so heavily on a 
single source for Jamaica,s oil, Dixon added that Jamaica 
has relied on Venezuelan oil for several years now, and 
claimed that the amounts received under PetroCaribe do not 
fundamentally alter this dependency.  (Note: Post disagrees 
with this assessment, as inflows from Venezuela will now 
account for some 70 percent - 21,000 barrels - of Jamaica's 
energy needs of the 30,000 barrels required daily,up from 
approximately 24.6% percent under the Caracas Accord.End 
note.)  The Permanent Secretary argued that for Venezuela to 
hold the region to ransom in the political arena &would make 
poor business sense.8  Trinidad and Tobago had not always 
been entirely reliable in their supplies, she continued; 
accordingly, there was little need to worry about potential 
supply shocks under the new arrangement. 
 
¶4. (C) Finally, in response to EconOff,s question about the 
intentions of Petcom, PetroJam,s retail arm, which recently 
announced plans for an expansion, Dixon said that Petcom,s 
true intention was &to keep an eye on the market,8 and 
implied that her boss, Minister for Commerce, Science and 
Technology Phillip Paulwell, had perhaps gone too far when he 
was quoted in the press on October 23, saying that Petcom 
wanted to 
"take on the big boys," a comment which concerned executives 
from the main private sector gas marketing companies, which 
include Esso, Texaco and Shell. 
 
¶5. (C) Comment: Dixon was more than willing to discuss all 
aspects of PetroCaribe, and the cordial nature of this and a 
previous conversation with P/E Couns (Ref C) indicate that 
she is a receptive interlocutor as we continue to engage GOJ 
on this issue.  Although Dixon certainly is not naive, it is 
possible that, as the senior civil servant at MTSCE, she 
might not worry overmuch about those "realpolitik" aspects of 
PetroCaribe she considers to be more the responsibility of 
her colleagues at the Foreign Ministry.  Still, her 
unabashedly bullish assessment of PetroCaribe,s benefits, 
and her refusal to acknowledge the accord's potential adverse 
consequences or hidden motives, are difficult to interpret. 
As Dixon is aware, following quiet Embassy interventions with 
a number of senior MFA officials prior to the September 6 
PetroCaribe Summit in Montego Bay (Ref D), Prime Minister 
Patterson himself felt compelled publicly to assert that the 
PetroCaribe accord came with "no strings attached" by 
Venezuela, and both he and Dixon will undoubtedly have heard 
concerns about Venezuelan motives also voiced by at least a 
few of their respective CARICOM counterparts.  End comment. 
TIGHE