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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