Bhoe expelled over gas

Tewarie had raised questions during a statement by Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Stuart Young, on the Renegotiation of the Caribbean Gas Chemical Limited Project, better known as the Mitsubishi/ Massy Natural Gas to Petrochemicals Complex.

The Minister said that on taking office in 2015 the Government found itself in a situation of a serious gas curtailment since 2010 that exposed them to billions of dollars in claims from downstream users not getting their contractual supply from the National Gas Company (NGC). Further, contracts had expired between the NGC and the downstreamers, no new talks were initiated, and no plan existed to alleviate gas supplies.

Saying that five days into office, the Government was asked by Massy to provide a legal opinion by the Office of the Attorney General on the project, Young hailed public servants at the Ministries of Energy and Attorney General for resisting pressure to do so when approached on September 4, 2015 and September 7, 2015. Young said the former regime had agreed to several items that potentially exposed this country to billions of dollars worth of claims.

“Legal officers in the Solicitor General’s Office did not agree to the Attorney General issuing the requested opinion. The legal officers objected in red ink to what ad been agreed to previous to September 7, 2015.” These warnings were also made to former Ministers of Energy and Finance, that the proposed deal could expose NGC to damages and losses. Young said TT’s first ever “Debt Tail Buy Down” deal had bound the NGC to pay the whole CGCL loan in the event of a gas shortage, without the NGC getting any benefit.

The former government’s Green Field Gas Priority Policy of 2013 said that in case of a gas shortage, supply priority would be for new industries, rather than old industries, but breaching existing contracts, Young related. The former government ignored warnings, but adopted the policy that exposed the NGC to billions of dollars in claims by most existing downstreamers at Point Lisas, a situation that could have wrecked TT’s gas industry.

He said the Government held talks with Massy, Mitsubishi, JBIC and the Japan Government, and by August executed an amended deal that protects the NGC and the people of TT. The Government rescinded the Green Field Policy.

The NGC is now protected by mechanisms such as a CGCL fund to cover loan installments.

“NGC is no longer exposed to the potential billions of dollars of claims for damages.” He added that the Government wants solutions to the curtailments in the industry. Replying to a query by Tewarie, Young said any shortfall in its gas-supply to clients could leave NGC paying from its own pocket, that is, a taxpayer bailout.