Kissinger: TT fuelling US future gas needs

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO is a secure and reliable energy supplier to the United States, and the American government should place greater reliance on TT and other western hemisphere nations to meet the majority of its future energy needs. This was the advice offered by former US Secretary of State, Dr Henry Kissinger, at a joint news conference with Prime Minister Patrick Manning at Whitehall yesterday. Observing the increased volatility in the Middle East (from which the US draws the bulk of its energy supplies) due to terrorism and other factors, Dr Kissinger said, “From a strategic point of view, the US should pay greater attention to the energy resources of the western hemisphere and try to ensure that as much of our supplies as possibly can be met from sources that are closer to our shores and in less turbulent areas.”

Kissinger said TT was one such area and while greater US-Caribbean cooperation was needed to protect the region against terrorism, he was satisfied that TT was doing its best to protect itself against this evil which is “a special phenomenon” now confronting the US. “The nature of terrorism is that you never feel you are doing enough. There is always more to be done,” Kissinger stated. Revealing his former position as a director in the US energy company Freeport McMoran, which is currently building a major regasification terminal off the US Eastern Seaboard, Kissinger said his visit had neither political nor commercial objectives but he “would be generally sympathetic to anything that strengthens the ties between TT and the US.”

The Prime Minister disclosed, however, that his meeting yesterday with Kissinger arose from previous discussions with Freeport McMoran officials, and had provided him with invaluable information as TT seeks to ship LNG into that company’s new regasification terminal. Reiterating that TT accounted for the bulk of LNG imports into the US in 2003 and that all of TT’s LNG is shipped through the four regasification terminals on the American East Coast, Manning said, “We believe that is a position that we ought to use in the interest of our national developmental objectives. In seeking to do that, we are talking with people, as we consider appropriate.”

Jokingly stating that his international consultancy firm does not hire governments as clients or lobby US government officials, Kissinger said he would be willing to offer assistance to the Prime Minister “as my friend.” Manning said his talks with Kissinger did not involve separate oil and gas taxes or American energy companies footing the bill for any exploration activities they undertake in TT. He added that these matters were currently being addressed by the Cabinet’s Standing Committee on Energy.