The recently signed agreement between Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and ExxonMobil is being hailed as a significant opportunity to strengthen Trinidad and Tobago's energy sector.
00:00Economist Dr. Indira Sajjuan expresses optimism about the partnership between ExxonMobil and the government,
00:08but cautions that urgent local issues still require government's attention to ensure maximum benefits for the domestic industry.
00:17Dr. Sajjuan describes the agreement as a major win for the government and an extremely significant development for the energy sector.
00:25She says it reinforces a sense of hope and signals that tangible progress is underway.
00:32Let us be real. We continue to be an energy-based economy.
00:38Oil and gas in the current time, gas obviously more important than oil,
00:44but this particular project promises a potential revival of the oil aspect of our industry.
00:52And that cannot be minimized in terms of its importance.
00:58Earlier this year, the United States revoked Trinidad and Tobago's OFAC licenses for the Dragon and Coquina Mannequin gas fields,
01:08halting cross-border gas projects with Venezuela.
01:12Despite this setback, Dr. Sajjuan says the current administration has demonstrated initiative in advancing the nation's energy sector.
01:21It really creates a strong sense of hope, and I know many, and I've been seeing different from the PNM putting all their eggs in one basket in terms of the Dragon deal.
01:36But there are many, many differences here.
01:39The most important being we don't depend on an OFAC license from the United States in order to be able to engage in this.
01:47This is exploration that is being done on our waters, and therefore, that is, in the first instance, we have control over it.
01:55Dr. Sajjuan emphasizes that the project is still firmly in the exploration phase,
02:01with the coming six months focused on critical activities such as seismic surveys and exploration.
02:07She says meaningful returns may not be realized until 2027, and warns that government must move decisively on economic diversification.
02:19However, while The Economist notes that both the Ministers of Energy and Trade highlighted their attention to the non-energy sector,
02:28she again stresses the urgent need for developing the sector to secure sustainable long-term growth.
02:33We should be now, because we have this opportunity and could potentially be getting so much money out of oil and gas,
02:42we should be using these resources in order to become the regional leader in renewable energy and alternative sources of energy.
02:52We are hearing about green hydrogen, for example.
02:56We need to be hearing more about that, because if we don't do it now, we will be in trouble.
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