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C O N F I D E N T I A L BRIDGETOWN 001743 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2016 
TAGS: ENRG EPET EINV PREL PGOV ST VE XL
SUBJECT: PETROCARIBE UPDATE #26:  ST. LUCIA PM'S OFFICE 
CLAIMS "AFFORDABLE OIL" WILL NOT BECOME A CAMPAIGN ISSUE, 
BUT... 
 
REF: BRIDGETOWN 312 
 
Classified By: CDA Mary Ellen T. Gilroy for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:  The Press Secretary to St. Lucia's Prime 
Minister confirmed press reports that St. Lucia and Venezuela 
will soon sign a bilateral Petrocaribe agreement and that 
Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) made a separate deal with 
Hess Oil to use its storage facilities on Saint Lucia for 
Petrocaribe oil.  He emphasized, however, that the bilateral 
agreement has not yet been signed as the press alleged.  He 
also emphasized that the oil agreement will not be used as an 
campaign issue.  Opposition leaders expressed concern that a 
Petrocaribe agreement will make St. Lucia politically 
dependent on Venezuela and that, if the opposition United 
Workers Party wins the upcoming election, it may move away 
from Petrocaribe agreements.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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AGREEING TO AGREE 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (C) Earl Bousquet, Press Secretary to Prime Minister Kenny 
Anthony told PolOff on both September 21 and 25 that St. 
Lucia and Venezuela have not yet finalized a bilateral oil 
agreement as press sources have stated.  According to 
Bousquet, the countries have agreed to sign but are still 
working out many of the details.  These include what form the 
oil will be delivered in (i.e., crude, refined, diesel, 
liquid petroleum gas), where it will be refined, and whether 
Venezuela will use St. Lucia as a transshipment point for 
deliveries to other countries.  Bousquet explained that 
representatives of the Venezuelan National Petroleum Company 
(PDSVA) met with the Prime Minister and Saint Lucia's 
National Task Force on Renewable Energy in mid-September to 
iron out details in the oil agreement.  Louie Louis, 
Permanent Secretary for Trade and Commerce and a member of 
the Task Force, stated that there are "some real significant 
factors" that need to be resolved before St. Lucia will sign. 
 He explained that the only agreement reached when PDSVA left 
St. Lucia on Friday, September 22, was an agreement for 
future deliberations. 
 
¶3. (C) Bousquet also confirmed that Venezuela has agreed with 
Hess Oil to use its nine million barrel storage facility on 
St. Lucia.  He stated that Venezuela made this deal directly 
with Hess Oil without input from St. Lucia.  According to 
Bousquet, PDVSA representatives flew to New York to meet with 
John Hess, CEO of Armeda Hess.  In this instance, St. Lucia 
is not expected to make concessions to Venezuela for not 
using a publicly owned storage facility, as the original 
Petrocaribe agreement demands. 
 
------------------------ 
INDEPENDENT OF ELECTIONS 
------------------------ 
 
¶4. (C) According to Bousquet, the achievement of a bilateral 
agreement to import Venezuelan oil will not be used as a 
campaign issue this fall.  He stated that instead of rushing 
the agreement in time for the elections, the Prime Minister 
is being very deliberative in reviewing the Petrocaribe 
arrangements.  Bousquet also stated that it is very unlikely 
that any Venezuelan oil will be shipped before the elections 
and that using Petrocaribe as an election issue would be 
pointless because both the opposition and the voters would 
recognize it as just that.  (Note: St.Lucia, along with 
Belize, is one of only two countries expressing early 
interest in Petrocaribe that have still not signed bilateral 
agreements.  Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago stated early on 
that they have no intention to participate in Petrocaribe. 
End Note.) 
 
¶5. (C) Bousquet further explained that, by the time of the 
elections, there will be little enough progress on the 
Petrocaribe agreement that if the current opposition United 
Workers Party (UWP) wins the election, it will still be 
possible to undo the agreement if the UWP chooses to do so. 
He also stated that, if the UWP does not take power after the 
elections, the government will ensure that the bilateral 
agreement between St. Lucia and Venezuela has an escape 
clause in it to ensure that no future government has its 
hands tied by the agreement. 
 
 
 
------------------------------- 
UWP CONCERNED ABOUT PETROCARIBE 
------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) In discussions with PolOff, Guy Mayers, the likely 
Minister of Commerce if UWP wins the election, and other UWP 
leaders all showed disdain for Petrocaribe and the possible 
political dependence on Venezuela St. Lucia may develop as a 
result.  Mayers likened the Petrocaribe scheme to taking out 
a 10-year loan to buy groceries.  In previous discussions, 
senior UWP leader Sir John Compton expressed his concerns 
about a deepening St. Lucian-Venezuelan relationship (reftel). 
 
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COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7. (C) Although Bousquet emphasized that clinching the 
bilateral Petrocaribe agreement and receiving shipments of 
what will be presented as "affordable" Venezuelan oil would 
not be exploited as an campaign issue, all signs point 
otherwise.  In numerous conversations, St. Lucia Labour Party 
(SLP) officials stressed that their number one campaign 
strategy is to showcase all their great accomplishments of 
the past nine years, particularly in the areas of 
infrastructure, public works, and the economy.  "Affordable 
oil" could prove to be a powerful puzzle piece next to 
universal secondary education and universal health care. 
 
¶8. (C) Although UWP leaders are not focusing on foreign 
relations as a key campaign theme, they are eager to discuss 
their concerns over Petrocaribe with any listening ear.  It 
appears likely that, if elected, UWP leaders would follow 
through with their commitment to reject a Petrocaribe 
agreement. 
GILROY