TT seeking energy deals

THE Prime Minister is optimistic that TT could sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Barbados which could see natural gas from one of that country’s offshore provinces being marketed in this country.

Dr Rowley yesterday disclosed the Energy Ministry and Barbados’ Department of Energy are working on this MOU which he hopes to sign when he visits Barbados in August.

Rowley said, “We are now exploring in deepwater closer to the Barbados border.” Because the geological environment does not recognise political borders, Rowley said the Barbados government is happy to work alongside TT on this initiative.

He said if it is successful, some of this gas could be marketed in TT. Rowley added that TT already has similar arrangement with Grenada, after the discovery of offshore gas there.

Recalling that Government signed the Dragon gas deal early in its tenure with Venezuela, Rowley said there is a possibility that TT could access the natural gas located in the Manatee part of the Loran/Manatee gas field which straddles the TT-Venezuela maritime border.

He said there will be talks with the Venezuelan government about accessing the gas in Manatee, which is on TT’s side of the border, in the short term ahead of an overall agreement on Loran/Manatee.

Reiterating his view that the crisis in Venezuela will be resolved peacefully, Rowley said the Venezuelan migrant issue was “not tied” to the Dragon deal. He also said TT noted that other maritime gas fields in Venezuela have been “sold or bartered to other people.”

Rowley said Government’s next assignment is to find the owners of those fields and convince them to market some or all of that gas in TT.

National Gas Company chairman Gerry Brooks underscored the company’s role in reaching agreements with Grenada; Mozambique and Ghana; Dragon; Loran/Manatee and the Beijing Rheingau Corporation and the opening of its office in Guyana this year, to support Rowley’s argument.