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The potential for Trinidad and Tobago to become a regional hub for natural gas-based alternative fuels for the shipping industry was among the key issues explored at the 2026 Energy Conference in Port of Spain.

This comes as multinational oil and gas exploration companies continue drilling deeper in local waters, aiming to secure sufficient gas supplies to meet both current and future demand.

Juhel Browne reports.
Transcript
00:00On day two of the Energy Chamber's 2026 Energy Conference at the Had Regency in Port of Spain,
00:05industry leaders continued discussions on the future of Trinidad and Tobago's energy sector
00:10with a focus on collaboration and sustainability.
00:13Proman's Director of Marketing and Logistics, Hannah Sukumaraj,
00:17participated in a panel discussion on the collaboration to create a low-carbon marine industry in the Caribbean.
00:22Speaking as a national, so Trinidad and Tobago sits on the map as the single largest exporter of ammonia in the world.
00:32We sit as the second largest exporter of methanol in the world
00:36and we play among the top ten largest exporters of energy in the world.
00:42So naturally, we have most of the options already available as alternative pathway fuels in Trinidad.
00:49All of the downstream products mentioned by the Proman executive are derived from natural gas
00:54supplied by oil and gas exploration multinationals such as BP.
01:00On day one of the 2026 Energy Conference, the President of BPTT, David Campbell, spoke during another panel discussion.
01:08We've got our base in the Columbus Basin.
01:13That will decline. I don't know if people understand that.
01:16We've got about 20-odd percent a year if untouched.
01:19So constantly adding to that.
01:21Now that needs technology, it needs cost-effectiveness, it needs safety,
01:26and that's going pretty well at the moment.
01:28And so we've got to make the smaller things work.
01:30But then the bigger growth does come from new, larger reserves.
01:35There was mention of specific discoveries already identified in local waters.
01:39Calypso, which Woodside is operating, is a discovery in the Trinidadian deep water.
01:46With our partner Shell, we're also looking at new license acquisitions.
01:51So there's a conventional pathway into that.
01:55So think of that as being the start of a new basin, effectively, a new start for Trinidad.
02:00Following the recent U.S. action in Venezuela, there has been a renewed focus in Trinidad and Tobago
02:06on long-standing efforts to commence cross-border gas supplies.
02:10And then, yes, we're talking a lot about Venezuela, but cross-border generally.
02:15You know, the industrial logic that says discovered undeveloped resources in a place where perhaps people are less confident to invest,
02:24right next to our underused with allage, you know, Atlantic, Point Lises, and so on.
02:35There's an obvious logic to that if that can be made to work.
02:39So, yes, I see the potential for growth in both those areas.
02:42The government, led by Prime Minister Kamla Passad-Bassassar, did not participate in the 2026 Energy Conference.
02:48However, there was mention of the work of the government by Rams Logistics CEO Sean Rampassad,
02:54who leads one of the local companies providing support services to the large multinationals.
03:01I feel like we aren't talking about deep water enough.
03:03And I know sometimes, and I'm probably, you know, a cause of that problem too sometimes,
03:08that we talk about everything else but the deep water.
03:10And I think it's so important for our service companies to understand the potential of that deep water
03:15and how important it is for us to get those projects going.
03:19And I know that the Minister of Energy is working hard on it together with the major players.
03:25I'm very optimistic about us moving quicker in this country.
03:31ExxonMobil said its survey vessel was due to depart from Shagaramas on Sunday,
03:37heading to the East Coast Marine Area to conduct the 3D seismic survey across the deep water TTUD-1 block
03:45in Trinidad and Tobago's waters.
03:48Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
03:50Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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