History created in London

THE EDITOR: Prime Minister Rowley, Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Stuart Young and by extension the Government have once again created history by bringing together giants in the hydrocarbon industry for the benefit of TT citizens.

According to a release from the Office of the Prime Minister, Dr Rowley met with British Petroleum’s interim CEO, Murray Auchincloss, at the company’s headquarters in London. Young and president of bpTT David Campbell were present for the talks.

The leadership at bp reaffirmed its commitment to TT and emphasised that the country remains an important component of its global operations. The discussions also focused on prospective initiatives, including the pursuit of deep-water exploration and sanctioning of future projects.

On December 5 Rowley witnessed the commemorative signing of an agreement for a new unitised commercial structure for Atlantic LNG in London. The agreement will allow the National Gas Company (NGC) to obtain a greater share of the revenue derived from the sale of LNG on the global market for the citizens of TT.

Delivering remarks at the ceremony, Rowley said, "We in Trinidad and Tobago, representing the people of Trinidad and Tobago, we feel confident that success will come our way and that that success will be shared more fairly with greater clarity and with greater sustainability.”

On that same day Rowley met with Shell Global's CEO, Wael Sawan, at the company’s global head office in London. Young and senior vice president and country chair of Shell TT, Adam Lowmass, participated in the talks.

The Shell leadership reiterated that the company remains aligned with TT as it intends to continue investing in the LNG business, which is necessary for energy security.

Rowley and Sawan discussed the progress of the Manatee and Dragon field projects, as well as other potential projects that could assist in securing sustainable gas supplies for TT.

The progress made in London is as the result of years of negotiations spearheaded by Rowley and Young on behalf of the people of TT. Thanks to their efforts citizens will be able to see more benefits from the resources of the country.

NIGEL SEENATHSINGH

San Fernando