PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Trinidad and Tobago government has informed oil and gas companies that the days of “just ticking the boxes” as it relates to bidding for oil exploration “are over” and that a new policy is being formulated.
Trinidad's Prime Minister Keith Rowley and Energy Minister Stuart Young greet Guyana's President Irfaan Ali at the 2023 Trinidad and Tobago Energy Conference.“We have been listening with more on the fiscal side. But you the big up streamers and the down streamers have been seeing that in your discussions with us because we believe, and it is our policy, to sit and negotiate,” Energy and Energy Related Industries Minister, Stuart Young, told the 2023 Energy Conference taking place here.
The three-day conference is organized by the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago and has attracted a number of speakers including Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary General Dr. Carla Barnett as well as regional and internal energy experts.
“Days of old where you have a bid round and it is just ticking the boxes, in my view, and I think the government supports that view, those days are over. So you have seen the bid rounds go out, we are about to go out with another one at the end of this quarter and we are here and we are ready to sit with everyone,” Young said, adding “we are screaming that we need to do more to get the oil out of the ground”.
Young said the government is ready to negotiate “and we are here, the government is ready, we have shown that we are ready to do business, to listen, to work with our stakeholders.
“I am determine that we keep that mandate to the benefit of the people of Trinidad and Tobago and as we have shown with all of the various agreements we have negotiated over the last four or five years, there is always a sweet spot that meets that mutually beneficial position for the people of Trinidad and Tobago as well as the relevant stakeholder”.
Young said he has no fear that Trinidad and Tobago’s relationship with stakeholders will continue as a result of the new policy, adding “we have seen the tangible results of working relationships we have with stakeholders.
“So I have no fear that that will continue,” he said, telling the conference that it is important for all stakeholders to recognize “we have to take the decisions now.
“We are competing globally, regionally we are stronger if we are all pushing in the same direction. We have the opportunity to continue to be leaders globally in energy security and energy sustainability,” Young said, urging Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname and other regional oil producers to work together.
