Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says agreements reached during a visit by United States Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau mark renewed confidence in T&T, and could help drive investment, energy security and industrial development.
Persad-Bissessar made the comment at a signing ceremony during Landau’s official visit to T&T yesterday.
She identified three major commercial initiatives: Curlew Midstream’s proposed fuel-storage and bunkering terminal at Point Lisas, Pinnacle Steel and Vanadium Corporation’s proposed restoration of the former ISCOTT plant, and agreements between the National Gas Company and BP linked to the Manakin-Cocuina cross-border gas field.
“Today, our nations turn longstanding friendship into action, into creating opportunities for our people,” Persad-Bissessar said.
She said the Manakin-Cocuina agreements had removed a major obstacle to development of the field, allowing BP to accelerate its final investment decision.
Manakin, in T&T’s Block 5(b), and Cocuina, in Venezuela’s Plataforma Deltana Block 4, are being developed as a single unit, with T&T holding a 66 per cent share and Venezuela 34 per cent.
The Prime Minister noted that both governments agreed to develop the field as a single unit in February 2015, when she was last prime minister.
“Today, more than ten years later, I’m closing the deal, and we are already getting to work,” she said.
She said 25 per cent of the gas is expected to support domestic power generation, downstream industries and light-industrial customers, while the remaining 75 per cent would support LNG production and increased supply to Atlantic LNG from 2027.
Persad-Bissessar also highlighted developments surrounding the Calypso deep-water gas project, saying BP’s agreement last week to acquire Woodside’s 70 per cent interest would allow BP to assume operatorship and potentially accelerate the project’s final investment decision.
She said the Government had pushed Woodside to either develop the project or sell its interest.
“After one year, you were able to acquire all the shares from Woodside, so you’re now 100 per cent tied up with that Calypso field,” she told BP Trinidad and Tobago president David Campbell.
Calypso contains an estimated 4.4 trillion cubic feet of predominantly dry, sweet gas, according to the Prime Minister.
She also pointed to ExxonMobil’s return to T&T and completion of seismic acquisition in its ultra-deep-water acreage as another indication of renewed interest in the country’s energy sector.
Beyond energy, Persad-Bissessar said the United States partnership included cooperation on organised crime, narcotics and human and firearms trafficking, as well as health and regional diplomacy.
She said the proposed restoration of the former ArcelorMittal plant could restore steel-making capacity, create jobs and benefit local contractors and manufacturers, while Curlew Midstream’s proposed terminal could strengthen Point Lisas’ energy and maritime infrastructure.
“We are restoring Point Lisas as an engine of growth,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar said T&T’s relationship with the United States remained critical, noting that the country had qualified for a lower ten per cent US tariff following engagements between Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers and the United States Trade Representative.
She said the initiatives demonstrated her Government’s commitment to attracting international investment and creating jobs.
“Two nations, two proud anniversaries, one shared future,” Persad-Bissessar said.
Trump thanked for reducing tariffs to 10%
Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar has thanked US President Donald Trump and his administration for reducing T&T’s tariff rate to ten per cent.
Persad-Bissessar said the lower rate followed engagements between Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers and the United States Trade Representative in Washington.
“I want to take a moment to thank President Trump and his team with your good self for all the bargaining that we’ve done,” she said.
She also thanked Sobers for representing T&T in the negotiations, saying the lower tariff meant “less we had to pay”.
The Prime Minister said T&T’s qualification for the ten per cent rate would benefit the country’s exporters and economy.
