Belize Natural Energy ready to sell cheap butane
Earlier in the week, Belize Natural Energy’s Marketing and Corporate Communications Manager, Daniel Gutierrez, appeared on Open Your Eyes to discuss the future of the oil industry in Belize. Gutierrez revealed that BNE’s exploration license was about to run dry and the company was hoping for the government to allow an extension or renegotiation. But Gutierrez also announced that the company has been seeking another source of revenue that can have an immediate impact on homes. Recently, BNE has been producing butane and may soon be able to sell it at a lower cost than competitors while supplying at least thirty percent of the overall local demand. While the price is significantly lower than the imported butane, there are alleged issues with the quality, according to suppliers. But Gutierrez says there must be a way for the public to benefit.
Daniel Guttierez, Marketing and Corporate Communications Manager, BNE.
Daniel Guttierez
“In 2007 BNE put in place a gathering pipe line system that moved the well fluids from the Spanish Lookout Field outside of Spanish Lookout to Iguana Creek, to the central gathering facility at Iguana Creek where we were then able to separate the well fluids into oil, water and gas. The water is pumped back down where it came from which is the safest place environmentally, right there where it came from in the formation where it came from. The oil was separated and sent to market. And now we had a volume of gas which we could use byproducts to create byproducts to produce byproducts for the country. 
You have to design a plant, engineer the plant, you have to procure the plant, you have to get it down here, you have to test it, you have to quality assure it. That does not take five or six months. It takes some time. We’re looking at 2007 when it became first possible. And by the end of 2009 we started testing that plant. That might seem like a lot of time it is not. It is a short time. But it was important for us to move it along. Small quantities of LPG, via intermediaries. We begged those intermediaries to bring the price down to the Belizean public. By the end of 2010 it became clear to us—by mid 2010 to the end of 2010—it became clear to us, the only way to directly affect people was to be able to produce the gas and send it to the market ourselves. 
That doesn’t mean that we will cut out everybody else but it means to say there must be a way for Belizean public to benefit directly so that we can bring that price benefit down to the people. And that is what we are now looking to go into. And as we’ve said earlier and I Belize the Prime Minister mentioned; the complicated part about it is how do you do that in a market whereby we only meet thirty percent of the market and we need our importers. So that is something we need to work out and tweak out.”
Last week, BNE supplied the residents of Georgeville with free butane gas.
Unless the quality issues affect the overall performance or safety of their product, I will assume that the criticism is a red herring & done solely to keep them from getting a foothold in the market. If the concern is the effect BNE’s price will have on the market, there are enough poor folks who will appreciate the break, sell it to them.
Well maybe they should sell this gas to suppliers who would only be allowed to sell to small households and not large companies.
The move is more than welcome BNE. Belizeans are taking a licking with the high prices of fuel, utilities, personal safety, etc, in this country. We could use some good news right now.
Why not ask the people of Georgeville, Salvapan, Ontario and the other villages that benefited from the free gas if they have a problem with the gas?
the quality of LPG is VERY important as it affect the effectivness of how it burns and it also affects how your equipment, that is your stove or vehicle or machines will perform. if the product is not of good quality even if the price is cheaper in the longer run it will cost us more to repair or purchase new equipments or even worse, the product will burn faster, hence we will have to buy more often, always remeber quality over quantity!
I’ve driven my pickup with BNE butane 2 months now. Works good – and hope it does so in the long run too!
I guess the answer would be to get the product up to market standards before placing it on the market that way the price can be set by wholesaling the product to the distributors who will sell it at an average price derived by using a formula based on past usage the other issue will be to make sure that the importers are allowed to purchase an amount from BNE base on 30% of their average imports over the past year. I am sure some of our mathematicians can work this formula out to make sure that all the importers get a fair share of the cheaper gas and not be cut-throating each other to run them out of business just to raise prices after their competitors fails, in this case the government will need to set a minimum price one can sell the gas at.
Does Belize have butane standards? Maybe lower prices from BNE will inspire better prices from other gas companies
30% of the country’s needs?? PERFECT…… sell it DIRT CHEAP to the lowest 30% of our Belizean Poor…… they dont need the “high standard” butane for machinery….. they will use it to cook their food…. I bet you the butane they sell burn better than firewood!!!
dont get me wrong….. Iam not saying because they are poor sell them inferior quality…..
..If they can only afford or prefer to afford that low- quality, low- price butane… then go ahead!!
I bet they won’t mind buying much cheaper butane of a lower standard… I wouldnt !!!
Now WE NEED a REFINERY……… so that WE CAN GET CHEAP GASOLINE TOO.
I guess the answer would be to get the product up to market standards before placing it on the market that way the price can be set by wholesaling the product to the distributors who will sell it at an average price derived by using a formula based on past usage the other issue will be to make sure that the importers are allowed to purchase an amount from BNE base on 30% of their average imports over the past year. I am sure some of our mathematicians can work this formula out to make sure that all the importers get a fair share of the cheaper gas and not be cut-throating each other to run them out of business just to raise prices after their competitors fails, in this case the government will need to set a minimum price one can sell the gas at.
Well first of all the gas is not refined and that is a point to consider. BNE will never invest on a refinery that costs millions of dollars because they are not even sure how long these wells will be producing.
The issue of the free gas to the communities in Cayo is just another political move from government and is to their advantage because of the conventions ongoing.
We need to be smart though. Why doesn’t GOB take the initiative to educate people on LPG?? Two of the countries large importers are selling propane which is not safe for the hot climate we have in Belize…this is also another safety issue we need to look at apart from BNE and the quality they can sell.
Why don’t we support our local industry????????? I keep reading so many negative about our local companies, let them get a hold of the market and we will be better off with lower prices, who thinks that the imported gas is better, do you have any idea how they process their products? the best products stay in america or go to Europe and the rejected is then shipped to thire worls countries like BELIZE so wake up people support your local company
how can anyone criticize this? This is about the only good news in the cost of living for over two years.