For the Dutch shortwave radio station see PCJJ
Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) was a petroleum company owned by the government of Jamaica. The PCJ had the exclusive right to explore for oil in Jamaica.
History The Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica was established in 1975 as State Energy Corporation under the Ministry of Mining and Energy and changed its name in 1979 by the Petroleum Act.
The company built its headquarters during the 1980s. The building was inaugurated in 1987 and described as a "very energy efficient" building.Energy Efficiency Building Code, Requirements and Guidelines, 1994, Worldbank.org, 1994
In 2005, PCJ launched its first formal licensing round on 4 onshore blocks (Negril, Santa Cruz, Portland, Windsor) and 20 offshore blocks (1 to 20).Jamaica’s petroleum potential prompts a first licensing round, Mona.uwi.edu, 23 April 2005
In January 2015, PCJ's Wigton Windfarm signed a contract with the Spanish company Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica for the construction of a wind turbine installation with a capacity of 24MW for the wind park Wigton III. Gamesa entra en Jamaica con la construcción de un parque eólico de 24 MW, Europapress.es, 19 January 2015 In May 2018, PCJ completed its first offshore 3D seismic survey.Tullow completes oil and gas 3D seismic survey, Loopjamaica.com, 14 May 2018 This survey was financed by a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).PCJ Exploring Offshore Wind Farm, Jamaica-gleaner.com, 15 October 2017 The ships conducting the survey were Polarcus Adiras.3-D seismic survey vessel in Jamaican waters for oil, gas exploration, Jamaicaobserver.com, 26 March 2018 In March 2018, Petrojam signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mexican Institute of Petroleum to grow bilateral trade opportunities around hydrocarbures and renewable energy.México y Jamaica profundizan relación bilateral , Eleconomista.com, 6 March 2018
In January 2019, the government of Jamaica backed out of a decade-long deal with Venezuela' s PDVSA that involved letting Petroleum of Venezuela acquire 49% of Petrojam, after the sanctions applied by the Trump administration on Venezuela in 2017. Gobierno de Jamaica disuelve su sociedad petrolera con Venezuela, Laprensa.com, 9 January 2019 In June 2019, PDVSA sued the Jamaican government for the expropriation of its 49% stake in Petrojam.Venezuela Sues Jamaica Over Takeover of Petrojam Shares, Caribbeannationalweekly.com, 17 June 2019 The Jamaican government responded that Petrojam is wholly owned by PCJ and belonged to Jamaica.Pdvsa’s refinery shares belong to Jamaica: Minister, Kallanishenergy.com, 19 June 2019
In early September 2019, the PCJ confirmed the discovery of a third live oil seep on its soil. Officials said the discovery did not hold promising commercial prospects, but this discovery confirmed the country had soils that produced oil and expelled it to the surface. Many oil seeps had been discovered in the country (both on land and offshore) since 2015.PCJ confirms discovery of third onshore live oil seep in Jamaica, Loopjamaica.com, 3 September 2019 The government had previously denied those discoveries.No oil found in Jamaica - PCJ, Rjrnewsonline.com, 13 May 2019 This oil seep was the country' s oldest to date, identified to come from a 160-million-year-old source rock.Oil seep discovered in Jamaica is the country’s oldest to date, Breakingbelizenews.com, 5 September 2019
In September 2019, the Jamaican Ministry of Mining and Energy decided to shut down the PCJ without providing a reason.Explain sudden decision to close Petroleum Corporation, PNP urges gov't, Jamaicaobserver.com, 13 September 2019Romario Scott, PCJ Shutdown - Energy Minister Defends Impending Winding Up Of State Body Amid Opposition Alarm, Jamaica-gleaner.com, 14 September 2019 A few days later, the government confirmed the plan to subsume the PCJ into the Ministry of Mining and Energy to increase cost-efficiency and better maneuver the country's energy sector.Latonya Linton, Decision to Subsume PCJ Into Energy Ministry Will Improve Efficiency and Oversight, Jis.gov.jm, 18 September 2019 Its closure date was set on 31 March 2020.Alphea Saunders, PCJ to be wound up by March 31, Jamaicaobserver.com, 30 January 2020
Subsidiaries Petrojam Ethanol Limited Petroleum Company of Jamaica Limited Wigton Windfarm Limited Petrojam Limited Jamaica Aircraft Refueling Services Limited (Joint Venture between Air BP and Petrojam Limited)
Controversies In 2010, a scandal hit PCJ when it was leaked that Trafigura, which trades the Jamaican oil on the international market, had made a deposit of $30 million on the bank account of People's National Party's Colin Campbell.Trafigura haunts PNP, Jamaicaobserver.com, 24 August 2010 This scandal led the government to dissolve the board of PCJ in August 2010.No Replacement Yet For Ousted PCJ Board, Jamaica-gleaner.com, 15 September 2010
In 2018, Transparency International published the 2018 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) in which auditors listed many major issues regarding the governance and the finances of the company, including high levels of unaccountable oil losses.Jamaica Falls Two Spaces On Corruption Index 2018, Jamaica-gleaner.com, 29 January 2019 This situation was also reported by the Ministry of Energy, which had led the general manager of Petrojam to step down in July 2018.Petrojam GM out, Jamaicaobserver.com, 11 July 2018 In January 2019, the Foreign Trade Minister also stated that Petrojam had not filed an annual report since 2008.Jamaicam Foreign Trade Minister says company "not in good standing", Tv6tnt.com, 15 January 2019
See also Economy of Jamaica
References
External links Official website The 1979 Petroleum Act