Minister with responsibility for Industry, investment and commerce, Senator Aubyn Hill, has blamed the former 2012/2016 People’s National Party (PNP) Administration for the failure of the hedge fund efforts to control local oil prices.

Responding to an accusation from Opposition Senator Damion Crawford in the Senate debate on the 2022/23 Appropriation Bill on Friday, that the current Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Administration was responsible for the failure, Senator Hill said that in initiating the activity in 2015, the previous Government had mistakenly used the wrong option in setting up the hedge that year, which should have lasted into 2016, but eventually cost the country some $33 billion.

 

He said that the previous Government had used the oil industry’s crude oil futures’ “put option”, which only benefits when oil prices go down, rather than the “call option”, which benefits when the prices go up. He also noted that at the time oil prices were close to US$40 per barrel.

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/hedge-oil-plan-failure_247283