00:00When TV6 News spoke with National Gas Company Chairman Gerald Randine on Friday, after a company event at the Hard
00:06Regency Hotel in Port of Spain, we sought an update on Nutrien.
00:09On October 23rd of last year, 2025, Nutrien confirmed to TV6 News that it had safely shut down its nitrogen
00:16operations in Trinidad and Tobago,
00:18citing challenges including US$28 million in unilateral and retroactive port access fees, as well as the absence of a
00:26reliable and economically sustainable natural gas supply.
00:29There was a question of whether the NGC under your chairmanship is receptive to concerns of companies,
00:35while you have been saying that there were issues that were not being dealt with, that need to be dealt
00:40with on the NGC's part.
00:42That's the impression I got. What is the latest you could say on that?
00:44What I can say, Jules, I am very pleased to tell you that Nutrien has written back to the NGC
00:50this week because of things that have happened and have asked for a meeting with the NGC.
00:56Other plans on the estate that have been down for years are starting to see the possibility of starting back.
01:03We spoke with Mr. Ramlin after the ceremony marking the NGC's execution of three upstream gas supply agreements for gas
01:10sold from the Teek, Saman and Pui fields,
01:14Block 2C and Block 3A operated by Parenco.
01:17In response to a question from TV6 News, Mr. Ramlin recalled those gas fields formerly belonged to Woodside.
01:23Three weeks before the election last year, in 2025, Woodside indicated their intention to sell their interests in those fields.
01:33The election was on the 28th.
01:36On the 6th of April, they came to NGC and indicated the position that they wanted to sell their interests.
01:47They had to do that because under the PSC, NGC had a right of first refusal to those assets.
01:55Chairman Ramlin explained the term right of refusal.
01:58They had the right to purchase those assets from Woodside before Parenco.
02:04Before NGC could have made a decision as to whether they want to exercise the right to purchase those assets.
02:11Somebody at the Ministry of Energy indicated their non-objection at the Ministry of Energy to that sale.
02:19From Woodside to Parenco, even before the 30-day period was up.
02:25And today, the NGC has to negotiate with Parenco, when today, the NGC could have been the owner of those
02:34assets.
02:34Chairman Ramlin spoke about what he identified as a difference since the 2025 general election,
02:40as the government has said it is addressing the shortfall in the supply of natural gas.
02:46Because of the strategic decisions and the way in which the Prime Minister has positioned Trinidad and Tobago,
02:52against all odds, Trinidad and Tobago is in a position today that it has never been in before,
02:57to be able to benefit from the deep water, to be able to benefit from cross-border,
03:02and be able to benefit from projects for the exploration of hydrocarbons with our neighbours next door.
03:08A reference to the government's efforts to secure the supply of natural gas from Venezuela.
03:13Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
03:15Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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