THE EDITOR: There is a current convergence of three events in the energy sector that raise questions about the capability of those who have been lead negotiators for governments of TT – past and present – when dealing with international oil companies.
The Tobago oil spill raises the serious question as to why TT has not even signed on to the OPRC (International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness Response and Co-operation).
Event number two is the shutdown of the Methanex Atlas plant when its 20-year contract to be supplied with natural gas expires in September. Even if there was enough natural gas to supply the plant, a very important question for the National Gas Company (NGC) would be at what price, given developments in the worldwide gas supply market.
The US stands to get a double benefit with the disruption of the Nordstream pipeline: Russia’s economy will be harmed and the US will then become the biggest exporter of natural gas. This is event number 3. The following is an excerpt from a story in the New York Times:
As soon as next year, the US's fossil fuel industry will gain its first foothold on a valuable shortcut to sell natural gas to Asia. The shortcut goes straight through Mexico.
The new route could cut travel times to energy-hungry Asian nations roughly in half by piping the gas to a shipping terminal on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, bypassing the traffic- and drought-choked Panama Canal.
The terminal is symbolic of an enormous shift under way in the gas trade, one that will influence fossil-fuel use worldwide for decades and have consequences in the fight against climate change.
The American fracking boom has transformed the US into the world’s largest gas producer and exporter. At the same time, the rest of the world has begun using ever more gas – in power plants, factories and homes – partly to move away from dirtier fuels like coal. Demand is particularly growing in China, India and fast-industrialising Southeast Asian countries.
The question must be asked: what does this mean for TT?
ARTHUR NURSE
via e-mail
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