Rowley: Angelin lost, but new BP platform in pipeline

_ BpTT decided to forego plans to build in Trinidad after projected timelines for its construction were found to not be feasible. But on Tuesday night, during his opening address at the Conversations with the Prime Minister event held at the Point Fortin East Secondary School, Rowley spoke of fresh possibilities.__ “I want to say to people of the south west peninsula, we have lost the Angelin platform,” he said.

“There is another one in the pipeline coming. We have to understand that we are not competing against ourselves for these projects. We are competing against other platform producers in Louisiana and Texas and so on and we have to behave in a way to attract that investment to this area.” Rowley said the Angelin platform was lost because of delayed decision making and the competition “against ourselves” for the building of the platform which hinted a future of regular work stoppages that made us an unattractive destination.

“We must be known outside of Trinidad and Tobago and in Trinidad and Tobago as a location that can compete and can do worldclass jobs on all of these platforms.

I have every confidence, given the discussions that we are having now with BP, that the next platform is likely to be built at LABIDCO...” _ Rowley said there is also potential for the local_building of platforms to service the development of Guyana’s energy sector. These points drew loud applause from the Point Fortin crowd._ He also gave his government kudos for its “successful” management of the economy by avoiding major job losses in the public sector during its 20-month tenure._ “This government has pursued a policy of trying to ensure, as far as we are able to do, that persons in jobs try and keep those jobs even if we can’t pay you salary increases or substantial increases.

So the first priority is to hold on to the jobs that you have.” He said government, as the main supplier of revenue to create jobs in the public and private sectors, has not engaged in major lay-offs to balance the budget. He said it is one of the best management strategies his government has been successful in doing, so far.

With oil prices falling to as low as US$27 a barrel, government saw revenues falling from $57.3 billion in the 2014/2015 period to $44.9 billion the following year. The decline has necessitated borrowing $12 billion to fund the nation’s current “lifestyle,” said Rowley.

Compared to the $30 billion borrowed between the periods 2010 and 2015 “during a time of economic plenty”, Rowley considered the borrowing of $12 billion and the retention of jobs to be a sign of government’s “competence.” Rowley said though jobs have indeed been lost, many have also been created in a time of economic decline. “Question is, how long can we do that if the revenues continue to decline? I leave that with you.”_