The government says new incentives in the Finance Bill will help unlock offshore gas reserves and attract much-needed investment to the energy sector.
Speaking during the debate on the 2026 Finance Bill, Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal defended the government’s proposed energy-sector incentives.
He stressed that Trinidad and Tobago cannot increase production without creating the right environment for investment and reducing bureaucratic delays.
“We cannot invite investment on one hand and delay it with the next hand. We cannot speak about increasing production and bringing new projects online while we dilly dally with an incentive framework.”
Dr Moonilal pointed to recent developments, including discussions with international investors and efforts to speed up approvals for energy projects.
He said the proposed measures are intended to make marginal offshore gas fields commercially viable and encourage companies to invest in new production.
“Officials of the Ministry of Energy met last week, met Monday with Indian Oil Limited and the Natural Gas and Oil Company of India, two Indian companies discussing investment in the energy sector. We met for hours on Monday virtually. We met with Saudi Eksab this morning discussing a 50 million United States dollar investment in the facilities at Pointe-a-Pierre from Port of Spain and Santa Flora.”
The Finance Bill 2026 is legislation that proposes changes to more than 30 existing laws in Trinidad and Tobago.
Its main purpose is to update financial, regulatory, tax, licensing, and administrative rules across several sectors.