PM: Trinidad and Tobago owes a debt to 'citizen Mark'

BOTH the Prime Minister and Energy Minister have said this country owes a debt of gratitude to "citizen Mark" Loquan for his tireless work, behind the scenes, for many years, to secure key energy agreements including the restructuring of Atlantic LNG (ALNG), a feat that will redound to the benefit of future generations.

Dr Rowley and Stuart Young praised the former National Gas Company (NGC) president during a ceremony at ALNG 's administration building in Point Fortin on September 27.

Loquan received the nation's highest honour, the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago  (ORTT), for his achievements in the energy sector and in steelpan innovation. He received it during the National Awards ceremony at President's House on Republic Day, September 24.

The ceremony on September 27 was held to mark ALNG's 25th anniversary and the agreement for its restructuring was signed in London last December.

In his address, Rowley said that under the terms of the agreement, ALNG's restructured format goes into effect from October 1.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert will present the 2024/2025 budget in Parliament on September 30.

On January 25, 2022, Government and ALNG shareholders signed a heads of agreement to guide the company's restructuring.

A statement issued by the energy ministry back then, said the agreement was executed by Government, BP, Shell TT Ltd and the NGC.

Previously, Government only had ten and 11 per cent shareholding in ALNG trains one and four, but no shareholding in trains two and three. Train one was closed in November 2020 due to gas supply issues.

The restructured company sees Government having shares of ten per cent in trains two, three and four, through the NGC.

Rowley recalled being a member of the former Patrick Manning administration in 1991-1995, when the decision to go into the LNG (liquefied natural gas) business was taken. ALNG was established on July 20, 1995.

At that time, Rowley said, "We were facing an IMF (International Monetary Fund) situation."

He added this was in relation to the future of the energy sector and revenue challenges then. "The question arose. What do we do for the future?"

He recalled this question was especially troubling for Manning who was also finance minister at the time.

Rowley said it was Professor Ken Julien who advised Government about the potential to convert natural gas into a form which could be exportable and earn revenue from it. Government, he continued, accepted Julien's advice and this led to the creation of ALNG.

Rowley admitted that Government may have been too cautious when it only negotiated for shares in trains one and four but not for shares in trains two and three.

"As the volume of gas began to be reduced, both in practice and in vision, we knew that we were vulnerable."

He said this prompted Government to talk to ALNG's shareholders about restructuring the company in a way that allowed it to be partners in the business.

Loquan, Rowley continued, caught the Government's attention in 2016, as a local energy professional with the expertise needed to assist in negotiations to achieve this objective. He said, "I want to identify a man called 'citizen Mark' Loquan because that is how he refers to himself."

Rowley recalled Loquan was working in Australia before becoming NGC president.

He believed Loquan had ideas of an early retirement then and apologised if Government interrupted those plans.

Rowley was comforted that someone with Loquan's expertise, agreed to become involved in critical negotiations which went a long way to securing the energy sector and the economy.

"Every citizen of Trinidad and Tobago owes Mark Loquan, a debt of gratitude," he said.

He said Loquan is now "under the weather." At the National Awards ceremony, Loquan was in wheelchair when he received the ORTT from President Christine Kangaloo.

Rowley said Loquan's family may have blamed Government for "pushing him too hard" and contributing in some way to his current health challenge.

"I have no choice but to plead guilty. Mark was a tower of strength in all our negotiations."

Young agreed with Rowley.

"Mark came back to Trinidad at a very difficult time to join me in this journey, in and around 2016, 2017," Young said.

In addition to his involvement in negotiations for ALNG's restructuring, Loquan was also intimately involved in other key energy negotiations such as the Dragon gas project and the Manakin-Cocuina projects in Venezuela.

Loquan also participated in meetings which Rowley and Young had with energy multinationals in London, the Hague and Houston in the 2015-2019 period.

"What he managed to do, and we worked very closely together, what we managed to do in NGC, not only in re-negotiating difficult contracts securing future gas, dealing with the downstream sector as well but also the ALNG restructuring which was critical."

He added, "Mark and I formed a very special bond."

Young said he was happy that Loquan was given the ORTT in recognition of his patriotism.

He added none of the achievements in the energy sector would have been possible without Loquan's efforts.

Outgoing ALNG CEO Ronald Adams praised Loquan as a mentor and an exemplar in the energy sector.

Adams, who was CEO for the last three years, said ALNG recorded a number of milestones in its 25 year history.

He was confident the restructured ALNG "opens doors for crucial future investment and positions us nicely to remain competitive for the next 25 years."

Incoming CEO Jean Andre Celestain, who takes office on October 1, promised to work with ALNG's stakeholders to build on the solid platform of growth that company has developed since 1995. "Let's move forward with optimism and confidence."