Chairman of the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago, Gerald Ramdeen, has accused the former government of deliberately debilitating the local downstream energy sector.
He said this situation forced the Board of NGC to take steps to correct the situation.
“They crippled our downstream by the policies that were put in place by the former administration. We have had to go and undo transactions that were done before to bring gas into this downstream. When they talk about plants closing, they are responsible for that because they never made any provision for gas to go into the downstream. And we have had to compete, the last time I spoke, I told you all the NGC now doesn’t hold any monopoly on gas, you know. The NGC has to compete with upstreamers to buy gas at LNG prices to be able to supply our downstream.”
Mr Ramdeen said work is also underway to revamp the National Gas Company.
“The NGC has remained a pipeline company for 50 years without any vision to make an investment in the upstream, to buy a plant in the downstream so that we can earn valuable foreign exchange. And those are the policies and the vision that is driving the energy sector at a Ministerial level, at a Prime Ministerial level, at an NGC level, and the only people to benefit from that are the citizens of this country.”
He added that ensuring that downstream companies have the gas they need to operate is one of the company’s main focuses.
“There are active discussions at every level to do certain things: prioritise our downstream, bring value to our country, to Atlantic LNG, have a footstep in the upstream, have a footstep in the downstream and expand the operations of the NGC. Those are things that have not been done in 50 years.”
Mr Ramdeen was responding to media questions following a Ministry of Land and Legal Affairs ceremony to hand over the title deed for the Beachfield gas processing facility in Guayaguayare to NGC.