Options for increasing the efficiency of Vanuatu’s oil and gas supply chain (2013)

Executive summary: The Government of Vanuatu (GoV) has identified addressing the cost of energy and security of supply as two of Vanuatu's development priorities. In an effort to improve both security and the cost of petroleum supply, the GoV together with the World Bank (WB), launched the Energy Road Map 2012-2022 to lay the foundation for future energy sector policy and investment. The Roadmap aims to identify the energy needs of the sector over the next 10 years, and the policy direction needed to support the required investment plan. Petroleum is a significant part of Vanuatu's energy needs and therefore an important input into the Road Map.

The Road Map Inception Report identified a number of priorities for petroleum including:

• Reduced reliance on imported petroleum
• Strengthening of the legislative and regulatory framework
• Risk management (including physical storage and financial hedging) to reduce exposure to high and volatile petroleum prices

This study assesses Vanuatu's petroleum dependency over the next 10 years, examines the efficiency of the supply chain, identifies areas for improvement and consider options for reducing Vanuatu's vulnerability to high and volatile petroleum prices, including examining the regulatory arrangements required to do so.

Keywords: Vanuatu petroleum supply chain report