And continuing on the butane theme, tonight we'll look at Belize Natural Energy's LPG tanker truck. It has a meter which is accurate, again proving that these things do exist. And how do we know? We tested it of course! And we also cleared up some of those nagging issues about the locally produced butane - here's the second part of our expedition to Spanish Lookout yesterday - this time to BNE's Iguana Creek facility:….
Jules Vasquez Reporting
This is the BNE butane or LPG truck. It has a digital gallon meter on it which is calibrated by an outside firm.
Daniel Guittierez, Belize Natural Energy
"We have a meter that accurately reflects what is pumped into the tank and I think that that is what we need to get to."
Inside the truck there's a printer that issues the receipt, the operator Josias Moreno attaches our new tank and the gallon meter starts to tick along.
It goes right up to 22.0 - where Moreno cuts it off - Our receipt is printed out with the data from the meter. Now there is no scale, but we had taken the new tank to the Bureau of Standards earlier in the morning and know that it weighs 74 pounds empty.
When we took it back, the scale said 173.5 pounds, meaning 99.5 pounds of butane had been put in, a shade under a hundred pounds - a marginal variance that can be produced by the time of day we bought it and how we transported it.
Meaning we got full and fair value - and that this meter, unlike those analog ones in the city - is accurate.
Daniel Guittierez, Belize Natural Energy
"There is a regional company that we've used in the past, Calibret Intertek but there are many others, you can call them. They are all over really and they do calibration of hydrocarbon equipment and that sort of thing so it's nothing difficult really."
Jules Vasquez
"You think it would be in the consumers' interest to have similar systems installed on the other butane suppliers in Belize?"
Daniel Guittierez, Belize Natural Energy
"It would certainly be in the interest of whoever is receiving the product that they are getting what they are being told they are getting."
As we showed you, that's what happens at LP Gas and Supplies is the only company in Belize that sells cylinders of 100% BNE butane. It sells for $84.00 and has received mixed reviews:
Jules Vasquez
"What's been your experience with consumers?"
Charlie Plett, LP Gas and Supplies - Co-Owner
"The gas is working good in the stove at home but sometime people come back with something that they call water, what is mostly pentane, it's kind of like gasoline, it won't vaporize unless it's like 95 degrees or higher."
Jules Vasquez
"And in that case you have to give them a refund or how does it work?"
Charlie Plett, LP Gas and Supplies - Co-Owner
"We tell them when we sell them the gas that we don't guarantee it's going to get empty, they might have to dump out a little bit."
Jules Vasquez
"Which one is more popular?"
Charlie Plett, LP Gas and Supplies - Co-Owner
"The imported gas is more popular. BNE butane especially in the carburettion it is working very good, some customers are telling me that it's actually better than the imported one."
Jules Vasquez
"In the carburettion you mean how it burns? The heat that it can actually produce."
Charlie Plett, LP Gas and Supplies - Co-Owner
"Exactly it's the heat. They have more power with BNE."
Jules Vasquez
"Which one do you use at home?"
Charlie Plett, LP Gas and Supplies - Co-Owner
"I tried both of them. Right now I have the imported gas."
Jules Vasquez
"He is a straightforward man, as you know. How would you respond to that?"
Daniel Guittierez, Belize Natural Energy
"I say you would have to ask Mr. Plett and I would do what you have done and ask the people who are actually using it to see if that is the problem they encountering. If it is, remember we are a producer and we can always make it better, we can always change what we are doing and I have never said that BNE is not in a position to make whatever we are doing ever better."
And if BNE accepts that its LPG quality is not optimal and fixes what's wrong, they hope to compete in the market against wary importers:
Jules Vasquez
"Why is the cartel of importers as I am calling it or the group of importers, why are they insisting that a producer of butane should not be a retailer of butane?"
Daniel Guittierez, Belize Natural Energy
"That's a question you would have to ask them. I think that if a Belizean company is making an excellent product, if a Belizean company insists on bringing benefits to the Belizean public then the Belizean public has every right to be able to acquire that a better price and that is what I think that we are doing."
BNE says the butane content of its Liquid Petroleum Gas is between 50 and 60%....
Email
Print