PM: Regional energy poverty a challenge

With Atlantic LNG Train IV currently under construction, the Trinidad and Tobago Government is presently preparing for Train V, which could become operational by the year 2008. Government’s projections have also indicated that a Train VI LNG plant, with gas being supplied by Venezuela, could come on stream by 2010. Prime Minister Patrick Manning indicated this as he addressed the opening ceremony of the Sixth Western Hemispheric Energy Ministers meeting at the Hilton Tobago on Tuesday.

At present trains I, II, and III utilise approximately 1.6 billion cu ft of natural gas. Energy, Manning stated, is a key component of economic growth and as a result, all countries, whether developed or developing, require reasonably priced and environmentally sound sources of energy. This presented net exporters of energy with an opportunity to earn revenues which could be utilised to develop their economies. He said: “It certainly makes us realise how important it is to have domestic energy supplies and how beneficial this could be to the country, provided the development of the industry is managed properly.”

Access to affordable energy, Manning continued, is a key driving force behind the peace and prosperity that countries of the developed world have enjoyed during the second half of the 20th century. Cognisant of this fact, Government was of the belief that regardless of their stage of development, countries in the western hemisphere should all have access to similar opportunities for the improvement of the quality of life of their citizens. The region, he went on, continuously faces the challenges of energy poverty and the lack of commercial sources of energy. However, countries could only confront these challenges through enhanced production, development, and trade.

The objective in turn would be achieved through collaboration and corporation. “We will therefore achieve very little in the way of what is both desirable and necessary without improved and increased relations across our borders and collaboration between the government and private sectors across our various states,” he maintained. Manning called on countries in the hemisphere to hold frank and open discussions about pending and proposed development in energy policies as well as about the many challenges that face the respective energy sector.

Countries in the region, he stated, are all at different stages of development which are relative to basic energy needs and the use of resources. Additionally, there were currently a number of regional and sub-regional groupings within the hemisphere. However, he asserted, these countries should not allow this reality to affect the progress of the establishment of a collective agenda.