Chambers welcome gas deal

THE San Fernando Business Association (SFBA), Chaguanas Chamber of Commerce and the Couva/Pt Lisas Chamber of Commerce yesterday welcomed the Dragon gas deal, which was concluded in Venezuela last Saturday.

San Fernando Business Association president Daphne Bartlett said the deal would help provide the upstream market in the country.

“We need that gas,” she said.

Bartlett added that TT had moved from an oil to a gas economy a long time ago. She also welcomed the possibility of TT being able to access gas from fields which straddle the TT-Venezuela maritime border, such as Loran/Manatee.

Her only reservation was that the political and social turmoil in Venezuela “doesn’t affect us.” She also hoped Government would use this as a platform to diversify the economy into areas such as agriculture and tourism.

Chaguanas Chamber president Vishnu Charran said the deal was “good for the economy.” Recalling the gas curtailment issues TT has faced in recent years, Charran believed this would provide “a sense of stability” for companies that need a reliable supply of natural gas to manufacture their products.

He agreed with Bartlett about the need for diversification.

Couva/ Pt Lisas Chamber of Commerce president Ramchand Rajbal Maraj said the chamber would like gas from the Dragon Field to help ramp up various industries based at the Pt Lisas Industrial Estate.

But Maraj also felt the Prime Minister, Energy Minister Franklin Khan or Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dennis Moses should provide additional details about the deal.

On Sunday, Khan said the deal is a solid commercial agreement. He also said TT is not receiving cheap gas from Venezuela, but the gas from Dragon will help TT to address the gas curtailment problem which it has been saddled with for years. Outside of deep water exploration finding new reserves, Khan said the gas the country has is “just enough to keep us where we are.”

The deal, Khan said also secured “a long-term symbiotic energy relationship with Venezuela.”