State oil company, Petrotrin, has reported what it describes as "a significant loss" of market share in the Caribbean, as a result of the PetroCaribe deal signed between a number of Caricom nations and Venezuela.

Under PetroCaribe, countries can defer payment on 60 percent of their Venezuelan oil bill for up to 25 years.

Before the PetroCaribe deal, Trinidad and Tobago supplied the Caribbean market with about 60,000 barrels of oil per day.

But one executive at the company, Kenneth Allum, told BBC Caribbean that PetroTrin has lost around 25 percent of that market share as a direct result of many Caribbean countries taking up the preferential oil offer from Venezuela.

However Mr Allum said the high price of oil on the world market, was one factor that helped softened the impact of that blow.

The company was also able to find other markets for its oil in the United States, and Central America.