Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 28/Sep 18:01

Young: Nothing new in oil and gas under government

OPPOSITION MP, former prime minister and energy minister Stuart Young says the government has had no “significant new initiatives” in the energy sector to date. His comments were made against the backdrop of the government’s announcement that its recent meeting with state-owned Saudi Arabian petroleum and gas company, Saudi Aramco, could be a step to job creation and alleviating Trinidad and Tobago’s forex challenges. In a social media post on September 26 following the government’s announcement published in the media, Young said in 2023, under the then People's National Movement (PNM) Rowley administration, Dr Keith Rowley led a small TT delegation to Saudi Arabia where they met with the Saudi Arabian Minister of Energy and Armaco executives. “The Prime Minister also had a bilateral meeting with Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud,” he said. He added that as former minister of energy and energy industries he had several meetings with Saudi Aramco executives where potential synergies were explored. A November 1, 2023 Newsday article said Young had met with officials from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD). That article said the Saudi Arabian agency provided development assistance and grants to developing countries by financing social and infrastructural projects. A November 16 Newsday article said Dr Rowley held energy talks with Saudi Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. In his statement, Young said that the country should not be mislead by current office holders who believe the country and energy sector could be run by PR stunts. “To date, there have been no significant new initiatives accomplished by the UNC government in the energy sector. Every achievement they have portrayed has been as a result of the previous PNM government’s efforts,” he said. He added that the government had refused to confirm the National Gas Company’s (NGC) success against Super Industrial Services Ltd (SIS) in the Beetham Wastewater arbitration and the terms of what the arbitrator found. “They have refused to confirm that Woodside is closing down their operations in TT and what that means for the deep water Calypso project. They are pushing out key professionals in the state energy companies. “They have been unable to secure any new short and medium term gas supply contracts for TT and they continue to believe that they can hoodwink and mislead the population.” Young said Standard and Poor’s (S&P’s) indicated that the loss of Venezuelan gas supplies would have serious negative effects on TT and the economy. “It will lead to declining production, loss of gas supply and reduced revenue,” Young said. The American credit rating agency recently revised TT’s economic outlook from stable to negative. Young said citizens should question the government and ask: what is the projected production for oil and gas next year? They should also ask what is going on with negotiations between NGC and the downstream petrochemical companies, he said. Young added that these were critical matters which required high levels of competence and expertise. “Our energy sector is our lifeblood and should not be underestimated and played with,” he added. The post Young: Nothing new in oil and gas under government appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.