Atlantic LNG to honour PM

ATLANTIC LNG (ALNG) will honour Prime Minister Patrick Manning at a special reception this week in Bilbao, Spain. The Prime Minister is currently attending the Gastech 2005 conference in Bilbao, and he delivered a presentation at Monday’s opening ceremony entitled “LNG in the Atlantic Basin — the State of Play.” The opening ceremony also saw presentations from King Carlos of Spain and several other Spanish and Basque political dignitaries.

Gastech runs from March 14 to 17 and will feature four days of high-level presentations on topics such as applications and utilisation of gas, commercial issues and technical developments. ALNG is being represented at the conference by a high-powered team led by company president Richard Cape, and among the highlights of the company’s presentation will be developments pertaining to ALNG Train IV which will be commissioned on December 31.

Spain is TT’s second major market for LNG export after the United States. Nearly 80 percent of all LNG imported into the US comes from TT. Manning held talks with US President George W Bush in Washington DC in December 2003 about TT’s importance as a prime energy supplier to the US. ALNG chairman John Andrews indicated that security measures at its Point Fortin plant and LNG tankers destined for foreign ports are regularly assessed by US military personnel. ALNG’s Point Fortin port is one of 29 ports in TT which has satisfied the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code which came into effect in July 2004. The ISPS Code is a mandatory requirement for global maritime security in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US.