Inaugural Shipment for National Gas Company Arrives in Belize
The first shipment of liquid petroleum gas purchased by the National Gas Company arrives in Big Creek on Thursday and final preparations are underway to offload its inaugural freight coming from the U.S. Gulf Coast. But the official start of business for the newly formed public/private concern is not without controversy, as there is presently a legal challenge that is before the Supreme Court which was filed by three LPG importers, including Z Gas, Grupo Tomza and BWEL. Despite an application for an injunction being denied by Chief Justice Michelle Arana, an appeal has been filed. But the National Gas Company is proceeding with the start of its business which according to General Manager, Doctor Gilbert Canton, will level the playing field for LPG importation and retailing in the country.
Gilbert Canton
Dr. Gilbert Canton, Managing Director, National Gas Company
“It’s exciting times for us right now; we finally got the facility down in Big Creek to the level where we can receive a shipment. The first shipment ever to come into Belize through the port by marine, by ship, is going to be coming in tomorrow actually. It’s going to be about ten o’clock tomorrow and we’re in the process of getting all the procedures to unload that safely for the first time. So it’s a big, big event for us. You know, this has been a project that has been in the works for many, many years now and it’s coming to fruition at this point in time, so we’re very, very excited about getting it done. It will provide this country with energy security that it needs and it’s going to have some transparency in pricing and control over quality. So I think it’s going to be a big, big move for Belize.”
Isani Cayetano
“It has been met nonetheless with some objection from the established players, so to speak, the companies that were operating locally in terms of the acquisition and of course the retail of butane, specifically, in the country. Where are we in terms of that particular challenge or the position that those other importers have taken?”
Dr. Gilbert Canton
“Yes, you know there’s been a lot of that being discussed actually in the media and in other places and it is an issue that needs to be discussed. Basically and fundamentally, the change that is going to occur in the supply chain coming to Belize is really in the transportation sector and the importation. Over the years, all the LPG has been coming basically from three of the terminals in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala and coming across the border in Melchor, on a daily basis trucks come in. What this project is doing is changing that to have the importation come in through a fixed point in Big Creek at larger load levels and also at a shorter distance from the U.S. Gulf Coast. It doesn’t have to go through the Panama Canal, come all the way and then trucked through Guatemala. That is the fundamental change. Everything else beyond that remains the same, so all the investment that these companies or any companies have made that’s in the LPG business in Belize has is still functional in the sense that they will still be getting product into their tanks and then distributed out of those tanks to the downstream part of it, the retail sector of it.”
