00:00Opposition Nidapolapi Beckels said on the social media platform X that the shutdown of gas supply
00:05to nutrient exposures, which he calls reckless government mismanagement. In response to a
00:10question from TV6 News, Energy Minister Dr. Rudal Munilal said that he has taken note of the matter.
00:16The Ministry of Energy has not received any formal communication on these matters, but
00:22we are aware and we were mandated by the Honourable Prime Minister Kamala Prasad-Bissessa
00:27to work with Nutrien and NGC to arrive at some type of solution. On October 23rd of last year,
00:352025, Nutrien confirmed at TV6 News that it had safely shut down its nitrogen operations
00:41in Trinidad and Tobago, citing challenges including U.S. $28 million in unilateral and retroactive
00:48port access fees, as well as the absence of a reliable and economically sustainable natural
00:53gas supply. In a statement on Friday, January 2nd, 2026, the NGC said the claim that hundreds of jobs
01:00will be lost is as a result of the actions of Nutrien. The problem, of course, is a legacy issue
01:07that arose because of the neglect, the negligence, the recklessness of the former PNM administration
01:14on failing to negotiate and agree on matters of port user fees and, of course, gas sales
01:22arrangements. That has come to a head and we are aware of the negotiations and the progress
01:31that has been made. Both the Energy Minister and the NGC claimed the sum of U.S. $14.35 million
01:38in take-or-pay liabilities owed to NGC by Nutrien was waived in August of 2024.
01:45All I can say at this time is that we do have several other parties interested in operating
01:54and managing the assets at Point Lisa's held by Nutrien. There is no shortage of investor
02:00confidence in that operation, which we may be looking to in the future. It is not a distressed
02:06asset by any stretch of the imagination. We will continue to discuss with Nutrien and
02:13other investors their portfolio and whatever other interests they may have in Trinidad and
02:18Tobago. Opposition Nina Beckel said of the government that failed the negotiations threatened 1,000-plus
02:24jobs, 31 percent of ammonia production, fertilizer supply, food prices, forex earnings and investor
02:30confidence, and that downstream industries will suffer and collapse. Energy Minister Munilal said
02:35in response that there is no shortage of foreign investors attracted to what he called Trinidad and
02:41Tobago's new energy sector hub.
02:44Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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