Tonight, this ship - an oil tanker - called the Miramis is on its way to Belize with fuel from Venezuela's national oil company PDVSA.

The fuel is coming as part of the long dormant Petrocaribe agreement, which has recently been resurrected by the Barrow Administration.

The tanker arrives on Saturday afternoon - and signals the beginning of a new fuel regime in Belize.

But - the bad news is - don't expect it to bring lower prices at the pump. First, Venezuela has to sell all Petrocaribe partners fuel at world prices - so that it does not undermine its own international oil sales.

The break is that government gets favorable terms to pay back for the fuel products - meaning it doesn't have to pay back all 100% of the cost immediately. Between 40 and 50% of the fuel bill can be paid back over 20 years at low interest rates - so that in the interim government can use the money for development programmes.

And while that is still being worked out - the fuel regime has changed - while to some extent still remaining the same. Government is working with PUMA Energy to land, and store the fuel - so some elements of their price buildup will remain.

But, it is expected that there will be greater transparency - meaning government will control the imports itself - so there shouldn't be any bogus inflation of the landed cost of fuel.

Another aspect of the new regime is that the pump price of gas will not change on the day the ship arrives in port. As we understand it, government has agreed to allow PUMA to deplete its current inventory at the current prices - and then about 10 days after the ship arrives - new pump prices will be announced.

As we understand it, some of the kinks are still being worked out, and observers say that working with PUMA within the Petrocaribe agreement poses significant challenges - which will be worked out as the working arrangement progresses.

We'll keep following it closely...

Channel 7

Petrocaribe Fuel Will Make Regular Better, Diesel More Expensive

The first shipment of Venezuelan fuel under the resurrected Petrocaribe agreement arrived on Saturday September eighth - and by next week some of it will be finding its way into your gas tank. But, don't expect lower prices! In fact, prices on diesel and Regular fuel are expected to go up!

Diesel's pump price will go up sharply - possibly by as a much as a dollar per gallon because world prices are trending up - and the current local price of 10 dollars and 17 cents per gallon has been kept artificially low due to the fact that PUMA had to compete with cheaper diesel imported by BNE.

Regular is also going up - reportedly by a little over ten cents a gallon. But that's because it's a higher grade of regular fuel - which is comparable with the Magna grade fuel sold in Mexico. That means it has a higher octane rating of 87 Octane, compared to the 83 Octane fuel that currently sells as regular.

The price on premium fuel may go down slightly - but we're not sure how much.

And so while you won't generally be paying less at the pump - the idea behind the Petrocaribe initiative is that the proceeds from the sales should benefit the country - as Government is allowed to defer as much as 50% of the payment for the fuel - and convert it into a long term low interest loan. In the interim, the government of Venezuela expects government to use the savings for investment in projects that will have a beneficial social impact.

Channel 5

Diesel Price Spikes - Thank Petrocaribe

As we've reported, the Venezuelan fuel under the resurrected Petrocaribe agreement arrived in country over two weeks ago - and the effect at the pump has just started to be felt - and let's just say, the first impression is not a good one.

The pump price of Diesel went up by one dollar and one cent on Friday morning - bringing it to 11 dollars and 18 cents a gallon in the city.

That's the price of the Venezuelan diesel; it reflects world pump prices which are currently trending higher - and the fact that the previous price of 10.17 per gallon had been artificially low - because PUMA Energy was competing with BNE - which had started to import Diesel.

The Venezuelan diesel is reported to be of a higher grade - but - in an outcome you can file under the law of unintended consequences it's probably not what's being pumped into your tank right now.

And that's because all the dealers knew the price would have to go up - after staying unchanged for months - they stocked up on diesel at the old price - to make a modest dollar a gallon killing on their inventories when prices changed on Friday.

The adjusted price for the Venezuelan regular and premium has not come into effect yet - but regular - at least is also expected to increase by a few cents.

Channel 7