The price for a gallon of gas at the pump is crippling right now - and it's because the world price for a barrel of oil is over 90 dollars.
The Prime Minister says that if the high world prices continue, he will have to re-visit the one dollar gas tax in his next budget:
Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister of Belize
"If this drop now back down to under $90 a barrel doesn't hold; if it goes back up above $90 a barrel and trading at over $90 a barrel does hold for 3 months or so then at budget time I will have to do something. But it's so volatile and there is so much that goes into the mix that you can't be pre-mature, I'll look like a fool going up and down like a yoyo, we've got to see what a trend it is. This is a blip, not a trend."
Marion Alley, Reporter Channel 5
"But locally though can Belize have a plan B, how far away from the possibility...."
Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister of Belize
"Plan B is to refine. We have two proposals, some Mexicans have approached us, we've done the due diligence, they appear to be very serious, very well-heeled and with the technical ability to do this. One thing that holding up making a decision in their favor is that BNE has said to me that it is contemplating the possibility of a full fledged refinery. Gilly Canton, the CEO told me that their board will make a decision by the 12th of this month. If BNE wants to do it in my view it will be a cabinet decision, my view is we should go with BNE, they are already here, they are the ones extracting the oil."
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