John Myers Jr., Business Reporter

Basil Waite is working with Global Energy Ventures. - File

A new company Global Energy Ventures Limited (GEV), has got the green light to construct a 60 million gallon ethanol dehydration plant in Port Esquivel, St. Catherine.

The dehydration plant is expected to process some five million gallons of hydrous ethanol monthly possibly from imported feedstock.

The value of the investment was not disclosed, but the company will also construct four 3.5 million gallon storage tanks on some 370,000 square metres of land.

Basil Waite, a former employee of the international consultancy firm, McKinsey and Company, and who has links with the People's National Party, is working with Global Energy Ventures to structure the deal for the plant.

Former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, through his consultancy HeisConsult Limited, also has links to the energy company.

Waite, when contacted, declined to comment saying the deal was not yet finalised.

Global Energy, according to its website, has offices in the United Kingdom and West Africa. The company specialises in providing a full range of inspection services to the oil and gas industries.

Patterson told the Financial Gleaner that GEV signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Guyana Government in April for the exploration of the possibility of producing ethanol there.

HeisConsult led the negotiations for that deal. But Patterson also told the Financial Gleaner his firm had no connections with the Port Esquivel project, but admitted that he had an interest in the one in Guyana.

Ethanol has become a growth industry in Jamaica as American demand for biofuels climbs.

Poultry producer Jamaica Broilers will, this month, ship its first volumes outputted from its 60-gallon ethanol dehydration plant also domiciled at Port Esquivel.

The state-owned oil refinery Petrojam announced recently that it planned to expand production of ethanol by constructing a new 60 million gallon plant. However, the refinery - which is partnering with the Brazilian trading company - Coimex is still hunting for suitable land space to build the facility. Petrojam already has a 40 million gallon ethanol dehydration plant.

Jamaica Ethanol Processing, which is majority owned by the US-based ED&F Man also operates a 60 million gallon plant in East Kingston and the Government is currently in the process of divesting the assets of the Sugar Company of Jamaica, which owns the five state-owned sugar factories to shortlisted investors with interest in ethanol production.

GEV's plant got its environmental stamp of approval on May 16 at a meeting of the state environmental and planning agency's Technical Review Committee.

john.myers@gleanerjm.com