Moonilal optimistic diplomacy will seal Dragon deal

ENERGY Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal expressed optimism over the government's efforts in energy diplomacy to seal a deal on the Dragon gas project with Venezuela.

He made the comment in a WhatsApp voicenote replying to former prime minister Stuart Young's social media post, which claimed Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar was incorrect in claiming that Trinidad and Tobago has a licence from the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) to exploit gas in the Dragon field (all pending the agreement of the Venezuelan government).

Moonilal retorted by saying Young should stay quiet, as sensitive talks were underway.

As a former energy minister, Young had made many trips to Venezuela to negotiate the Dragon deal, whose capacity is estimated at 3.2 to 4.2 trillion cubic feet of gas.

"This is a time of intensive energy diplomacy. A lot of work has taken place. The PM has led the initiative on this very critical matter for our economic stability and energy security."

He said the PM has said she expects a positive response from the US authorities, seemingly alluding to the OFAC office.

"At this time, we ignore completely those wild, loose and reckless statements from former minister Young. He is being premature.

"I will ask him to just remain quiet for a couple of days and allow the authorities to undertake their work and allow the process of energy diplomacy to continue, so we can arrive at a position that is of great significance to the people of Trinidad and Tobago and that will advance our economic development."

Young was scathing in his Facebook post on October 4.

"So, no OFAC licence in hand, even though you said you obtained an OFAC licence for Dragon when you arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday night.

"Therefore, the UNC government does not know the terms of what they are being given to work with by OFAC and that is only one part of the equation because Venezuela owns the Dragon gas field." He dismissed any idea of Shell negotiating with Venezuela as the owners of the gas on behalf of Trinidad and Tobago.

"It is the government’s duty to protect Trinidad and Tobago and to lead and get the best terms for Trinidad and Tobago. You cannot count on a multinational company to do that."

Young alleged that Trinidad and Tobago had once been sold out, saying, "So you selling out once again just like you did between 2010-2015 when you gave away all our gas revenues until 2025 with 'incentives'."

He chided, "Then you gaslight the population and say no harsh and disrespectful language has been used by yourself as Prime Minister and many of your ministers in attacking the Venezuelan leadership over the years and even over the past few weeks, blaming the media for reporting what you and your ministers said. Really, Mrs Persad-Bissessar?"

Young then seemingly referred to the PM, saying "The question does not arise", when CNC3 News reporter Akash Samaroo had asked if she recognised Maduro as the Venezuelan leader.

"Lastly, you refuse to answer the media when asked if you recognise President Maduro as the President of Venezuela.

"Your position is clear for years, so why are you ducking now? The charade, hypocrisy and continued belief that citizens are not intelligent must end."

A statement on behalf of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on September 30 said, "The Secretary acknowledged the importance of energy security to Trinidad and Tobago’s economic prosperity and regional stability. He outlined US support for the government’s Dragon gas proposal and steps to ensure it will not provide significant benefit to the Maduro regime."

Persad-Bissessar's remarks on Trinidad and Tobago's progress in getting an OFAC licence have been somewhat ambiguous, speaking to reporters last week since returning from the UN General Assembly in New York. Initially, she seemingly gave an impression of Trinidad and Tobago having an OFAC licence but later back-pedalled to say Trinidad and Tobago was now involved in a process to get it.

On her arrival at Piarco Airport on the night of October 1, she spoke of the OFAC licence as being a hurdle, the details of which still had to be worked out.

She then somewhat loosely spoke as if OFAC was a done deal, saying, "To get that OFAC licence, it was not easy. You may think it happened overnight; It did not."

The PM said that from day one, upon getting into office, her government had begun work on getting the OFAC licence.

Referring to the Dragon field, plus the cross-border Loran-Manatee and Manakin-Cocuina fields, she said, "I don't know if the word is 'deal' but whatever agreements have been reached, we will work the details out and we will share them with you."

However, the next day, on October 3, at a function to distribute medical equipment from India, she said she hoped to get an OFAC licence "soon."

"(This) is one step in a two-step process that we have to go through. The next step would be our licence with Venezuela.”

While she had said Trinidad and Tobago has the support of the US Secretary of State, in fact, it is the US Treasury's OFAC department that issues the licence and its terms and conditions.

Up to October 4, the OFAC website gave no indication of any nod for Trinidad and Tobago to access Dragon gas (although many services of the US government have been suspended with the ongoing US government shutdown.)

Last July, OFAC granted US multi-national energy company Chevron, a restricted licence to operate in Venezuela, which included the condition that no money from the proceeds can be transferred in any way to the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Newsday reported Persad-Bissessar at the October 3 event saying she has not yet officially contacted the Venezuelan government since the announcement of US support for a Trinidad and Tobago-Venezuela deal on the Dragon gas.

PM noted then the continuation of a 30-year Venezuelan licence to Trinidad and Tobago for production and exploration of Dragon gas but she added that more negotiations were needed, “given all that has transpired.” She had hailed the input of Shell into helping Trinidad and Tobago to access the Dragon Gas, saying the company has visited Venezuela and spoken to energy minister Delcy Rodriguez, although unsure when she would receive updates on these talks.

Trinidad and Tobago needs an OFAC licence to allow it access to buy Venezuelan gas, and so exempt this country from US sanctions imposed over the years for alleged election-rigging by the Maduro regime.

Recently, the Trump administration has dubbed the Venezuelan government "narco-terrorists" for allegedly trafficking cocaine and fentanyl into the US by speedboat, a distance of 2,000 miles.

A fleet of US warships now assembling in the Southern Caribbean has blasted four speedboats out of the waters, the latest obliterated with what appeared to be cluster bombs, for alleged drug-trafficking, amid a war of words between Caricom leaders as to whether or not the Caribbean is to be deemed a zone of peace. So far, 21 people have been killed in the US military's destruction of alleged drug boats in the past month or so. Persad-Bissessar lent support to the US military against the alleged smugglers, saying, "Kill them all, violently."

The Trinidad and Tobago-Venezuela war of words began earlier when Venezuela claimed to have held infiltrators coming from Trinidad and Tobago to carry out sabotage, leading Persad-Bissessar to threaten to blast out of the water any Venezuelan military vessel heading to Trinidad and Tobago. Maduro called her "out of her mind," and his interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, dubbed her "a drunk woman who governs Trinidad."

However, Persad-Bissessar has now suggested she could visit Caracas for energy talks, having once cordially met Maduro, but since then having adopted the Trump administration's depiction of him as a narco-terrorist, a terrorist being one who indiscriminately uses deadly force against random people, with the intent to intimidate a wider audience, often for political/ideological ends.