Nigeria-Jamaica Oil Facility To Be Reopened

VENTURES AFRICA – Discussions on reviving the Jamaica-Nigeria oil facility and other trade options has been reopened after Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan’s visit to the Caribbean country.

According to a Jamaica Observer report, plans for joint facility, which ended in 2007, have been resuscitated by a communique issued after talks between visiting Nigerian president, and Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, on Friday.

The communique issued stated: “President Jonathan and Prime Minister Simpson Miller expressed concern over the status of Jamaica-Nigeria technical cooperation in oil, as the Jamaica-Nigeria Oil Facility had been suspended”

“They agreed that both countries would explore cooperation in this area once more, as well as in the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG),” it added.

According to Jamaica energy expert, Dr Raymond Wright, the first oil deal between Jamaica and Nigeria was negotiated in 1978 and was motivated “by security concerns” and the desire to “lock in a steady supply of crude from a trading partner” which Jamaica considered friendly.

The communique also disclosed that a Jamaica-Nigeria commission would be appointed to carry on negotiations about the joint venture and other proposals, including a bilateral air services agreement that would see Jamaica become the gateway for Nigeria and the rest of Africa into the wider Caribbean, as well as a hub for Nigerian exports, the Jamaica Observer reported.

President Goodluck, who was accompanied by a high-powered delegation including, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, and Minister of Culture and Tourism, Dr Edem Duke, has since left Jamaica after his two-day official visit.

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