Lee wants details on Atlantic restructuring

POINTE-a Pierre MP David Lee has called on government to provide details on the restructuring of Atlantic LNG (ALNG)

He made this call during his contribution to debate on the 2024/2025 budget in the House of Representatives on October 4.

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.

The agreement also makes allowance for third party natural gas (gas not produced by any of ALNG's shareholders) to be converted to LNG at the company's plant in Point Fortin.

Lee asked, "What really did the government give up for that restructuring?"

He said “Energy companies just don’t give up a stake in something just so. What really did government give up for that restructuring? Was it that claims that Shell had against this country that they agreed to settle without saying they are liable in exchange for this restructuring?"

Lee repeated, " I always said energy companies are not going to give up something for nothing. They’re not, they have an infrastructure, they have a vested interest."

He asked "Was it that with the government, because they need to get gas for Atlantic LNG and either the government or the Energy Minister were so in bed with the Venezuelan government that there was some deal that was taking place that the Shell and the energy companies felt that they were going to benefit by that restructuring?”

Lee repeated the UNC's questions about when TT would receive its first supply of natural gas from the Dragon and Cocuina-Manakin projects.

Last December, government secured a a 30-year licence with Venezuela for the Dragon field.

In July, government secured a 20-year licence from Venezuela for bpTT to exploit the Cocunia field on the Venezuela side of the unified one trillion cubic feet Cocuina/Manakin field of which bpTT already has an operatorship of the Manakin part lying in TT water.

Also in July, Shell announced its final investment decision on the Manatee field, which straddles the TT-Venezuela maritime border between TT and Venezuela. Shell plans to bring gas production from Manatee online by 2027.

Lee said previous statements by Energy Minister Stuart Young and Finance Minister Colm Imbert do not give a clear picture as to whether gas from either project would arrive in TT in 2027.

He added that all Young and Imbert did in their respective contributions was to give a list of coming attractions.

Lee scoffed, "I could have gone to Globe (cinema in Port of Spain).

That cinema is no longer operational.