After Houston

Rowley met with major energy companies, including British Petroleum (BP), Shell, ExxonMobil, and EOG Resources. On the agenda were strategies for navigating the challenges facing the energy sector and opportunities for growth and partnerships at home and in the region.

A US$5 billion investment by BP in TT was announced, and EOG will commence significant seismic work and drilling. Also, Shell will be investing billions in TT over the next four years.

While Rowley was engaged in these talks, reports emerged in Guyana over the operation of ExxonMobil there. Preliminary findings from the Snoek-1 well, the company’s latest exploration in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, were favourable.

The finds could bolster Guyana’s status as being something of a sleeping giant. The country has an abundance of natural resources but is lacking infrastructure needed to maximise profits.

Trinidad and Tobago has the opposite problem. We have infrastructure but our unrenewable resources are dwindling. It makes sense, therefore, to seek to partner with Guyana, which may need refinery facilities as it works to jump-start its economy.

If such facilities have to be built from scratch, this will represent a substantial capital investment. If, on the other hand, cross-border partnership happens, then margins could be widened. Therefore, there is much expectation that this country will seek to play a role in the shifting dynamics of the region.

But there is another reason why Trinidad and Tobago is key. Tensions between Guyana and Venezuela threaten to undermine any efforts to move forward with projects in Guyana. The longstanding border dispute creates an aura of uncertainty that is counter-productive to stable business. Depending on the margins of the finds involved, Venezuela is likely to invoke a claim to territory that might affect the lay of the land.

This country has good relations with both Guyana and Venezuela and is poised to play a meaningful role in mediating any tensions that might escalate. Furthermore, our leadership role within Caricom – which was demonstrated by US President Donald Trump’s recent call to Whitehall – means we also have influence over key regional collaborators who will be looking on and who have an interest in regional security. Therefore, the matter is not only economic, but diplomatic.

The irony is that all of this also underlines how much more work needs to be done locally in terms of the diversification of our economy.

This country has for a long time relied on oil and natural gas to fund its operations. At the same time, systems and structures have not been efficient in terms of the use of the windfall from these operations.

The journey to a new procurement regime has been a long and difficult one.

As the world seeks to wean itself off hydrocarbons, we cannot afford to ignore the fact that the tide is changing. While Trump’s presidency has already set in motion a rollback of the forward-looking energy policies of his predecessor Barack Obama, it is not likely that the global trend – and the gains made at the Paris climate conference – will evaporate overnight.

This country must play a role in any potential expansion of the oil and gas industry in the region with an eye to stimulating the economy.

But it must equally have its eyes on developing alternative power sources, reducing carbon emissions, and developing economic segments that can provide less volatile income levels, such as manufacturing and tourism.

There must be follow-up after Houston, yes. But charity must also begin at home. Our house needs to be in order sooner rather than later.