The Office of the Prime Minister would like to correct a misrepresentation by Curtis Williams in today's Trinidad Guardian on page A3 (Friday 26 January, 2018).
At no point in time did Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Keith Rowley sign any contracts which wedded NGC to bpTT and/ or EOG as is stated in the article.
The Honourable Prime Minister flew to Houston last March to assist the discussions taking place between bpTT and EOG and NGC for the future supply of gas from these up-streamers. These discussions had stuck and bottle necked and the Prime Minister's intervention advanced them and they then proceeded to agree on prices and volumes with NGC for 2019 to 2023.
Trinidad and Tobago, through NGC, did not have certainty of gas supply beyond 2018 and it was the Prime Minister's intervention that assured the continued supply of gas albeit at higher prices than NGC had been accustomed to previously. The landscape and gas purchase and sale market in Trinidad and Tobago has changed and the population should be aware of this and be weary of entities that are attempting to mislead as to the purpose and behaviour of NGC.
The Government stands behind NGC and its commercial negotiations aimed at getting the best price for gas for the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, whilst balancing the continuation of an important downstream industry.
