NGC, CNC must settle dispute

Clint Chan Tack and Sasha Harrinanan

There is no need for Government to intervene in a commercial arrangement between the National Gas Company (NGC) and Caribbean Nitrogen Company (NGC), Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Energy Minister Franklin Khan have declared as a gas price dispute remains unresolved.

Rowley and Khan made statements on the issue in the House of Representatives on Friday.

After briefly confusing CNC with CNC3 news station, Rowley said, “NGC and CNC are engaged in commercial, contractual negotiations.We trust that those negotiations would continue.”

Rowley dismissed a claim from Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh that Cabinet may have instructed NGC to shut off the natural gas supply to CNC. He said NGC is a supplier of natural gas and does not require Cabinet sanction to do so.

And there is no role for the Labour Ministry, he declared, or the wider government in this matter. Rowley said while Government is concerned that 400 workers have been affected, “the fact of the matter is that there are contracts to be negotiated.”

Noting NGC is a major player in the gas supply business in the commercial sector, Rowley said the fact that Government is not jumping into this issue, does not mean it is taking a hands off approach. “We are hands on through the NGC,” he declared.

The Prime Minister said no interest would be served at this time by the independent audit of the NGC’s value chain. However he noted there is discussion about the NGC’s role as a pipeline company “which buys gas from those who produce the gas at the well head and those who use the gas at the other end of the pipeline.” Rowley said in seeking the country’s best interests, “we (Government) don’t engage in personalities.”

Khan said it was wrong for anyone to believe there is a “permanent shutdown” at CNC. “Most matters have already been settled. The last matter to be settled is the actual price of gas,” Khan said.

The minister said TT has not lost any significant revenue due to the shutdown of CNC’s plant in Pt Lisas. He said the gas sales contract between NGC and CNC expired on October 18, 2017. Khan said NGC granted three extensions to CNC, with the last of these expiring on January 24. Khan was confident both parties would reach a resolution on the matter next week.

In a separate statement, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) said Government stands behind NGC and its commercial negotiations aimed at getting the best price for gas for the citizens of TT, while balancing the continuation of an important downstream industry. The Energy Ministry in a statement, urged CNC to stop its petulant and threatening behaviour and negotiate with NGC.

In a statement, CNC said it was hoping to reach a deal that offers a fair price for both parties and restart its plant. However CNC said NGC has not offered one.

“All parties were working to resolve this situation until the gas was turned off, forcing us to close our operations,” CNC said.

“We absolutely share the stated desires of the Honourable Franklin Khan Minister of Energy and Energy Industries and chairman of National Gas Company (NGC) Gerry Brooks to continue negotiations, but to reach a reasonable conclusion, we believe we need more transparency, and therefore proposed an independent verification.”

NGC, also in a statement, said it was willing to resolve the dispute but criticised CNC for an “unwarranted and unprofessional attack” on Brooks and the NGC board of directors.

NGC reiterated this is a period of reduced margins and shared sacrifice which all parties must be prepared to make. CNC said it did not share Brooks’ view about a shared sacrifice extending to workers, businesses and citizens who could be affected by its plant’s shutdown.