ROSEAU, Dominica (AP):

Environmentalists on Monday urged the government of Dominica to reject a proposal by Venezuela to build an oil refinery in the scenic island.

Atherton Martin, president of the Barbados-based Caribbean Conservation Association, said the proposed refinery "was incompatible with the image of the country as a nature island."

A team from Venezuela on Friday proposed building a US$50 million (euro38.5 million) refinery that would produce 40,000 barrels of petroleum products a day, Dominica Energy Minister Reginald Austrie said.

Construction would be funded by the South American country as part of its Petrocaribe pact with the island, Austrie said.

Back-up plan

The proposal was made one week before Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visits Dominica on February 16 to open an oil storage facility paid for under Petrocaribe.

The country of 69,000 is known for its pristine, mountainous landscape, which includes a 22,000-acre (8,903-hectare) national park, volcanic craters and majestic waterfalls.

Martin, a former agriculture minister in Dominica, said the government's decision to "rush into an oil refinery was because it had fallen flat on its delivery of economic projects" and that it was "muddying the waters with something it doesn't need."

Austrie has said that building a refinery in Dominica would provide the public and industry with cheaper fuel and decrease its reliance on refined products coming from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago.

Petrocaribe alternative

Officials at Venezuela's energy ministry and state oil company did not immediately return calls. Chavez said in early February that Venezuela intends to build a refinery in Dominica, but did not elaborate.

Dominica is one of 14 Caribbean countries to join Venezuela's regional Petrocaribe programme, under which they receive preferential terms to buy oil. As part of the deal, Venezuela helps fund the building of infrastructure needed to receive and distribute the fuel.

PetroCaribe is widely seen as a bid by Chavez to make inroads in the Caribbean, where the United States is a major trading partner. Chavez, long at odds with Washington, calls Petrocaribe an alternative to United States-backed trade deals.

Chavez was scheduled to visit the island chain of St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Saturday to open a Petrocaribe-funded fuel storage facility located just outside the capital, Kingstown.