ENERGY CHAMBER ON DRAGON GAS

CCNTV6

President and CEO of the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Thackwray Dax Driver, says significant upstream changes are taking place in the energy sector. He tells TV6 that while much of the national attention has been on the Dragon Gas Deal, there is far more potential for development and growth within Trinidad and Tobago's energy industry.  Nicole M Romany reports.

Transcript

00:00Head of the Energy Chamber, Dr. Thackeray Dax-Driver, says

00:04too much emphasis is being placed on the Dragon gas field,

00:08cautioning that the discussion around energy must be viewed through a broader lens.

00:15He points out that Trinidad and Tobago has the infrastructure, expertise and capacity

00:21to process natural gas, and he believes this strength should be strategically harnessed

00:27to drive national growth.

00:30Taking that for gas, making it into LNG to sell to international markets, taking that

00:34for gas, making it into petrochemicals, methanol and ammonia, which are petrochemicals which

00:39there's a demand for in the world.

00:40They're seen as important as part of the energy transition, that they are ammonia for fertilizers

00:47for feeding the world, but then also as a fuel, as a carrier for hydrogen, which is the whole

00:52other conversation, and methanol as a sort of very important petrochemical feedstock and

00:59also potentially a low carbon fuel as well.

01:01So there's a lot of interest in those.

01:03However, he says, the real challenge lies within the petrochemical sector, where the country

01:11continues to grapple with a low gas supply situation.

01:16Dr. Driver notes that some relief is expected by 2027 when the manatee gas field comes on

01:22stream, a development that could help stimulate economic recovery.

01:26Still, he cautions that one project alone will not transform the sector, emphasizing the need

01:34for sustained exploration and continuous activity to secure long-term growth.

01:40The big field, which I think, if we saw an investment decision around it, would be, I think, very

01:45good news and sort of a bit of a game changer would be the Calypso field.

01:49This is a large deep water gas field between Tobago and Barbados, so complicated, expensive

01:56to develop.

01:57If we could get a decision to have that field developed, I think that would give quite a lot

02:01of confidence that we could bring gas from deeper waters.

02:04Dr. Driver tells the Morning Edition, a relationship with Venezuela forms an important part of Trinidad

02:12and Tobago's energy future.

02:14He explains that Venezuela holds some of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, resources

02:21that have yet to be fully monetized.

02:23One clear opportunity, he says, lies in leveraging TNT's existing infrastructure to help bring that

02:31gas to market, adding that the drag and feed the project must be viewed within that broader

02:36context.

02:37An important part of Trinidad's future will be as a location to process Venezuelan natural

02:43gas.

02:44The politics of it are difficult and have remained difficult for a long time.

02:50But I think that the opportunity is there.

02:54There's international oil and gas companies who want to work with Trinidad on that opportunity.

02:59And I think we need to take advantage of that and find a way through this difficult situation,

03:07this political situation which exists.

03:09Dr. Driver says Trinidad and Tobago should strengthen collaboration with Grenada to explore

03:16and develop that country's potential natural gas resources.

03:20He believes such a partnership could support Grenada's need for reliable, affordable energy

03:26energy while also creating mutual opportunities for investment and resource sharing for Trinidad

03:33and Tobago.

03:34Nikul M. Romani, TV6 News.

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