– but prices likely to go upAmidst worry by regional leaders, Venezuela yesterday pledged to continue supplyingVenezuela has allayed fears that the Petrocaribe oil arrangements are over.oil on favourable terms to Petrocaribe member states despite a drop in international crude prices.Venezuelan Foreign Minister Rafael Ramirez, the former Chief Executive Officer of state oil company, PDVSA, stressed at the opening of the gathering that the South American nation remains “firmly committed” to the initiative.Members of Petrocaribe were in Venezuela for the occasion of the 14th Meeting of the Ministerial Council.There have been widespread concerns that Venezuela, facing internal turmoil, would consider ending the arrangement. Any such move would have left many CARICOM member countries reeling as they would now be forced to buy oil directly from the world market.Petrocaribe “is an energy agreement that is perfectly sustainable over time,” Ramirez told energy ministers of the 18 member states.The Venezuelan government-promoted Petrocaribe alliance has come under increasing criticism in recent weeks due to a sharp drop in oil prices, which President Nicolas Maduro says has caused government revenues to fall by at least 35 percent.Venezuela’s opposition blamed the Maduro administration’s continued support for Petrocaribe in large part for the country’s financial woes.Venezuela’s basket price for crude fell last week to US$70.83 per barrel,Cheap Jerseys Online, its lowest level since Oct. 1, 2010,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, when it closed at $69.61 per barrel.Petrocaribe is made up of Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Granada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia,China NFL Jerseys, Suriname and Venezuela.Founded in June 2005 by Maduro’s predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, Petrobras allows poor Central American and Caribbean countries to purchase crude and derivatives from oil-rich Venezuela on conditions of preferential payment.Last week, media reports said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was monitoring the potential impact any changes to Petrocaribe will have on regional economies. Analysts said the initiative will have to be modified or discontinued amidst a worsening economic situation in the South American country.Reports were that delegates,Wholesale Jerseys, including those from Guyana, would have been discussing the new financing terms, the supply, outstanding debts and even a regional economic zone.In essence, the Petrocaribe arrangement has been allowing Guyana and other participating countries to buy the crude and other oil products, and keep part of the payment as a long-term,NFL Jerseys From China, low interest loan.Last year, Venezuela’s exports to the Petrocaribe member states were reportedly reduced by 20 percent. Oil exports account for more than 90 percent of Venezuela’s revenues.Guyana and a number of the Petrocaribe countries have been benefitting from the oil deal.? Guyana has an agreement for several years now to supply an annual quota that is negotiated yearly. The payments to Venezuela due for oil are used to pay off farmers and millers who are participating in the deal. The price offered by Venezuela has been a lucrative one.The delayed payments by Guyana have been used to fund projects and plug other initiatives.