Eastern Caribbean Gas Pipeline Company Limited
Encyclopedia
The Eastern Caribbean Gas Pipeline Company Limited (ECGPC) is a joint public/private sector company charged with the initiative of building a natural gas distribution network for the Eastern Caribbean
chain of islands.
In addition to both of the French overseas regions of:
Both islands are considered anchor markets because Martinique and Guadeloupe give the pipeline a good ratio of total population served in comparison to the total distance covered.
, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
, who announced in his annual budget that his country was going to undertake one of the largest civil engineering project in the Caribbean region.
The project suffered a brief setback when Venezuela
n leader Hugo Chavez
petition intensely that the pipeline should instead originate from Venezuela
and should transport oil rather than LNG. Chavez further stated that the pipeline should continue to Cuba and the United States
. Which added new dimensions of complexity to the project overall given length. It was mooted that transport liquid natural gas in a liquid form required super chilling the gas and transport of such long distances such as to Cuba would have required new points to re-chill the LNG to keep it in a liquid state during transportation.
In March 2010 the Barbados indicated after a two year hiatus that it would seek to move toward the negotiations stage for the 177 miles (284.9 km) pipeline from Tobago to Barbados.
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
chain of islands.
Network
The proposed pipeline is to build a 600 miles (965.6 km) long network of undersea pipelines stretching from the generation point in Tobago, northward to other islands including:- BarbadosBarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
- Saint LuciaSaint LuciaSaint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 620 km2 and has an...
- DominicaDominicaDominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
In addition to both of the French overseas regions of:
- MartiniqueMartiniqueMartinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, - GuadeloupeGuadeloupeGuadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
.
Both islands are considered anchor markets because Martinique and Guadeloupe give the pipeline a good ratio of total population served in comparison to the total distance covered.
History
The idea had its genesis with Patrick ManningPatrick Manning
Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning was the fourth and sixth Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the former Political Leader of the People's National Movement . He served as Prime Minister from 17 December 1991 to 9 November 1995 and held that office again from 24 December 2001 until 26...
, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, who announced in his annual budget that his country was going to undertake one of the largest civil engineering project in the Caribbean region.
The project suffered a brief setback when Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n leader Hugo Chavez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
petition intensely that the pipeline should instead originate from Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and should transport oil rather than LNG. Chavez further stated that the pipeline should continue to Cuba and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Which added new dimensions of complexity to the project overall given length. It was mooted that transport liquid natural gas in a liquid form required super chilling the gas and transport of such long distances such as to Cuba would have required new points to re-chill the LNG to keep it in a liquid state during transportation.
In March 2010 the Barbados indicated after a two year hiatus that it would seek to move toward the negotiations stage for the 177 miles (284.9 km) pipeline from Tobago to Barbados.