Lee to PM: Give true state of TT's energy sector

POINT-A-PIERRE MP David Lee is challenging Prime Minister Dr Rowley to level with the country and give the true picture of the state of the energy industry.

Lee, in a press release on Sunday, said that after five years of "abhorrent failure" in the energy sector, it is time Rowley ends his "political charade on misleading the country" on the true state of affairs, as facts would show this sector is in the "most deplorable, despicable and crumbling state it has ever been."

He said the announcement that this country’s largest ammonia producer Nutrien had closed its Number One plant, worsening the crisis at the Point Lisas Industrial Estate, is a clear indication that the prime minister misled the country in his Mid-Year Review contribution when he said: “We are in a much better position today in energy than when we came into Government in September 2015.”

Lee who is the UNC's deputy political leader said that the reality is the energy sector is in crisis with six petrochemical plants being shut down at Point Lisas within the last six months in addition to the closure of YARA, Arcelor Mittal and other Methanol Holdings (MHTL) Plants under Rowley's watch.

It is nothing but dishonest for this Government to blame covid19 or sluggish global demand, for the downfall of these plants, Lee said, because since 2017, the energy sector was on a downward spiral.

Today, the millions lost in revenue and hundreds of job losses at Point Lisas are all as a direct result of the Rowley regime’s poor negotiations with up streamers which have resulted in higher uncompetitive natural gas prices, a problem which down streamers have been complaining about in recent years, Lee said.

He said it was shameful the PM in an attempt to cover up the fact that his government has not matched the oil and gas production of the period prior to 2015, told Parliament that gas production now averaged 3.8 billion standard cubic feet per day when Ministry of Energy figures show the actual figure to be 250 million standard cubic feet per day less for the calendar year 2019.

Lee also scoffed at Rowley's attempt to take credit for the deep-water exploration success which were all as a result of the deepwater blocs approved by the former Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration, even as the PNM government failed to undertake a single deepwater bid round in the last five years while a sole shallow water bid round undertaken, had failed.