TTMA, Energy Minister in Suriname for oil and gas summit

The TTMA president will lead a delegation to Suriname to attend the Suriname energy, oil and gas summit in Paramaribo from Monday.

Roger Roach will be joined by leaders of 20 companies from the chemicals, printing and packaging; food and beverage; garment and construction sectors, the association said in a media release.

The mission, organised by the TTMA and ExporTT, comes on the heels of a 2022 mission in Suriname which was attended by 17 companies from TT.

The release said the delegation will take part in the summit and will engage in business--to-business meetings over the three-day period.

“The trade mission is geared toward determining business opportunities within the Surinamese market for TT companies and establishing and deepening strategic business and logistical relationships between manufacturers and buyers,” the release said.

The TTMA said the mission is a key project under the Export Booster Initiative, a strategic effort by the government aimed at increasing the value of the non-energy sector.

Energy Minister Stuart Young will also attend the summit, he announced in a tweet on Sunday.

“Promoting regional energy security and the right for developing nations to exploit their natural resources in a responsible and safe manner,” he said on twitter.

Earlier this month the energy minister took a position on the local energy sector on international programme BBC World Questions, saying that while the country is meeting its goals for transitioning to clean energy and achieving net zero, the country still benefits greatly from having oil and natural gas as a means of energy security.

“One thing we should all learn from the Russian/Ukraine war last year is that a lot of developed countries are in a rush to restart coal plants. They didn’t have what we have.

“...Let us thank God we have an oil and gas economy,” he said.

In March, the Ministry of Planning and Development started the construction of a solar farm at the Piarco International Airport.

The Government also started work on a 112 MWac solar project at Brechin Castle and Orange Grove along with bpAETT (BP Alternative Energy) and Shell. The project is expected to produce approximately 300,000 MWh of green electricity per year. It is TT’s first utility-scale project.