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  • 6 months ago
Economist and former Government Minister Mariano Browne welcomes reports that Shell Trinidad and Tobago Ltd is moving ahead with the Aphrodite project.

The offshore gas field, still under development, is projected to deliver first gas by 2027.

More from Nicole M Romany.
Transcript
00:00Speaking with TV6, The Economist says any development of this nature is significant,
00:07particularly as it relates to boosting the country's gas production.
00:11He notes that Trinidad and Tobago is currently operating below capacity in both LNG and the
00:18petrochemical sectors, so any improvement in supply is a welcomed development.
00:24However, he cautions that the country must confront the broader economic realities with
00:31clear eyes and a grounded perspective.
00:34This is a positive development, but we always have to keep in mind that we cannot depend only
00:40on natural gas and natural gas derivatives to keep the economy afloat.
00:46The reality is, and we have been in declining production mode since 2011, and Jupiter, Juniper
00:53and LNG, which came on, only pushed gas production up by 10 percent.
01:00Right now, at that stage of the game, we are operating at 3.6 billion cubic feet a day.
01:05Now we are operating at 2.5.
01:08Brown tells TV6 that while the progress on the Aphrodite project is encouraging, the country
01:15must remain cautious as it moves forward.
01:18He emphasizes the importance of careful planning and prudent management to ensure long-term stability
01:24and growth in the energy sector.
01:27Brown notes that in its release, Shell talked about barrel oil equivalence, but it did not
01:33say how much gas this would be producing.
01:37It says a significant contribution that does not translate into specifics.
01:42So, you can't come to a definitive conclusion.
01:46You can say that it's useful, it's important, it's significant, it's promising, it's helpful.
01:53But at the same time, it doesn't say that it's going to come, how much it's going to produce,
01:58and how much when these other projects will come upstream.
02:01However, The Economist maintains that caution remains the most prudent approach as the country
02:08navigates emerging opportunities.
02:10I think the answer to that is about using methanol as a fuel to power the tankers in the
02:16transportation of national gas and other products.
02:20So, I think that's a positive.
02:22I don't have a difficulty with that.
02:24I think it's useful from that perspective.
02:27But it's also, one has to still remember, we're still in the same position, right, dependence
02:32on natural gas.
02:34He notes that while this positioning is not necessarily a bad thing, it is only as beneficial
02:40as the country's ability to replace the gas it uses with new gas discoveries.
02:46Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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