Enill: Better days ahead for NGC

NATIONAL Gas Company (NGC) chairman Conrad Enill is confident that the company’s economic fortunes will improve within the next two years.

He made this statement as he joined company president Mark Loquan and vice president (finance) Narinejit Pariag in outlining some of the NGC’s challenges during a virtual meeting with members of the Public Accounts Enterprises Committee (PAEC) on Wednesday.

After noting an earlier comment about a reported $285 million debt which former state oil company Petrotrin allegedly owed NGC before its closure in 2018, Pariag said, “We also have non-payment from TTEC which has created a significant drain on our limited cash flows.”

He added, “As of this time, at the end of 2020, the NGC is indebted to the tune of $5.6 billion from TTEC.”

Out of that figure, Pariag said $3.7 billion “represents a loan and $1.9 billion represents receivables for the years 2019, 2020.” Notwithstanding this money owed to NGC, Pariag observed, “We have done a great job in terms of managing our cash balances.”

He said NGC’s cash position in 2015 was approximately $6.8 billion.

That position in 2019, Pariag continued, was $6.5 billion. He explained this has allowed the company to sustain its operations. over the last five years.

With respect to TTEC, Loquan said, “You have two elements.

“You have a subsidy where you are buying gas and you are subsequently selling gas at a lower price to the entity and then you have the complications of non-payment.” He added,” We have entered into some solutions for some of these issues and some (solutions) of which are still being discussed.” The latter, Loquan continued, include loans that involve Government, NGC and TTEC. Pariag disclosed, “We will be going to the market to raise some financing to address some of our capital needs.”

Enill was confident that within one to two years “the revenue streams as we knew them before will be improved significantly.” He said, “The NGC has a plan. We’ve looked at these matters and I think we are at the stage where we can explain how we propose to create the sustainability and some of the strategies that we are putting in place.”

He hinted that NGC may need help from Government legislatively because strategies used in a high-price environment are not going to be appropriate in a low-price environment.

On the basis of what happened last year and what the NGC has seen so far this year, Enill said, “We believe that in the very short term, the NGC will continue to get back to its former state, where it will contribute positively to the TT revenue.”

PAEC chairman Wade Mark observed NGC reduced its workforce from 832 to 647 employees between 2016 and 2020. He queried how NGC’s wage bill remained between $304 to $305 million during that period. Loquan promised that information would be provided to the PAEC.