Young: Moonilal wrong about pipeline

FORMER energy minister Stuart Young says Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal is wrong to suggest it is feasible to run a natural gas pipeline from Guyana or Suriname to Trinidad and Tobago without running that line through Venezuelan territorial waters.

Speaking to reporters outside the UWI South Campus in Debe on May 19, Moonilal said a pipeline from Suriname can bypass Venezuela's waters to reach TT.

"Throughout the world, pipelines are run through water, on land. It is quite common with international, commercial arrangements and international law to run a pipeline through other territorial waters belonging to several countries and on land."

Moonilal dismissed a statement made by Young on May 5 about a pipeline from Guyana or Suriname needing to pass through Venezuela's waters to reach TT.

In a Facebook post on May 21, Young said the option which Moonilal referred to does not exist.

"The feasibility of any pipeline project depends on a number of factors. It has to be cost effective and the cost of landing the gas in TT has to be at a price that the local market will buy it at."

Young added, "We did feasibility studies a couple years ago and the cost of building a pipeline from Suriname (assuming there is sufficient gas to export, which there was not as yet), and passing it around Venezuela’s territorial waters would not make any commercial sense."

He said it will be too expensive to build a pipeline from Suriname that does not run through Venezuela's waters, "adding to the cost of landing the gas in TT and no one would be able to afford the gas."

Young repeated. "It is simply not commercially feasible."

He said it is critical the population not be misled by government with respect to the future state of the energy sector.

"Misleading the population in this area is not an option as the investors are global companies who closely monitor government utterances."

Young expressed concern that all initiatives suggested by government to secure future gas supplies are not feasible at this time or in the medium term.

After the swearing in of government ministers at President's House, St Ann's on May 3, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said government will pursue initiatives with Grenada, Guyana and Suriname for future gas supplies.

At a news conference at Balisier House, Port of Spain, on May 5, Young said TT signed an energy memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Suriname, which had agreements with Heritage and the National Energy Corporation.

“If there are sufficient gas reserves in Guyana and Suriname – which I hope there are – there then comes the feasibility concept, and it is something we started working at.”

He said gas reserves in Guyana and Suriname must also be proved up, as those were undetermined.

“But again this is many years off.”

Young said if there is a feasible gas supply from Grenada to TT, this could take ten-15 years to access.

In 2012, under the then UNC-led People's Partnership (PP) coalition government, TT signed an energy MoU with Grenada.

In 2018, under the then PNM government, the National Gas Company (NGC and) Russia based GPG agreed to commercial terms to explore possible energy resources in Grenada.

An exploratory well was drilled in Grenada's offshore Nutmeg field but "abandoned and capped" in 2018.

Young said right now there are no proven gas reserves offshore Grenada.

He added any gas there is very far away from commercialisation.

On May 12, Guyanese Vice President Bharat Jagdeo said while Guyana is open to discussions with TT about future gas supplies, it has no gas to supply to anyone at this time.

"We need all of the gas there for power generation and the fertiliser plant.”