TT and Venezuela sign MOU on Energy

Energy Minister Eric Williams signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Venezuela’s Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez to facilitate the joint exploration of cross-border natural gas reserves.

According to a release from the Prime Minister’s office, this energy co-operation initiative, which will be undertaken by PDVSA of Venezuela and Petrotrin of Trinidad and Tobago, is one of many strategies currently being implemented by the Government to facilitate major expansion of this country’s energy sector. It also aims to bring significant growth in the business sector and dramatic job creation, it said. In bi-lateral discussions last Thursday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias and Prime Minister Patrick Manning discussed strategies for deeper economic co-operation between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. Among the strategies under serious evaluation is the feasibility of a gas pipeline from Venezuela and Trinidad, through the Caribbean to North and Central America. Also under evaluation is the formation of a giant entity comprising the State-owned energy companies of Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil and Peru.

President Chavez also expressed Venezuela’s interest in entering into an arrangement though which natural gas, which is located in close proximity to Trinidad, will be monetised in Trinidad, and shipped from Trinidad to export markets worldwide. Trinidad and Tobago is one of the world’s leading suppliers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and currently provides 60 per cent of energy supplies imported by the US. Venezuela also has one of the world’s largest natural gas reserves. The cross-border reservoir between Trinidad and Venezuela is estimated as “huge”. Both President Chavez and Manning are committed to the  realisation of energy co-operation and economic integration initiatives and are already planning further discussions, within the next two months, in order to expedite these initiatives. Manning, according to the release, is confident that Trinidad and Tobago is well poised for unprecedented economic development through strategic trade relations with our Caribbean and Latin American neighbours. According to Manning, Trinidad and Tobago is already a strong economic engine in the Caribbean Region and will soon become a formidable force in the Western Hemisphere.