00:00At this time, it is projected that LNG prices will increase significantly
00:06and with that are the commodity prices in the energy sector.
00:11National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Chairman Gerald Ramdeen
00:14speaking during a media conference at the NGC's head office in Point Lisas on Friday
00:19as the global benchmark natural gas price crossed the U.S. $3 per MMBTU mark.
00:26Higher commodity prices are occurring following military action by the U.S. and Israel against Iran
00:32and Iran's retaliation against Israel and oil and gas-producing states in the Middle East
00:38such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
00:41The upstreamers that NGC buys gas from, because at this point in time
00:49and because of the unfortunate events that have taken place in the Middle East,
00:52the NGC is trying its best to be able to ramp up the amount of gas
00:59that it can purchase from the upstreamers.
01:02Every single molecule of gas is important at this point in time
01:05to be able to put that gas into Atlantic LNG
01:09and to also make that gas available to the downstream petrochemical sector.
01:15Upstreamers are the oil and gas exploration companies such as BP and Shell.
01:20The government's efforts to increase oil and gas supplies are occurring
01:24as Trinidad and Tobago is now under a state of emergency
01:27in response to what the government identified as a threat posed by criminal gangs.
01:33Energy Minister Dr. Rudal Munilal feels a question from TV6 News about that on Thursday.
01:38In terms of the state of emergency with regard to the energy sector in particular,
01:42under your portfolio, have you had any communication from any of the companies,
01:46be it multinationals or local, about any concerns or just any feedback
01:50in terms of the state of emergency, any potential impact on their operations?
01:55Well, I can tell you we have had discussions at the level of the government
01:59with the minister and his team, Minister of Defence, the Honorable Wayne Sturge.
02:03We have had a meeting, the Energy Sector Security Initiative meeting.
02:10And then there was this comment by the Energy Minister about the security of the local energy sector.
02:16I've been in touch with all the players, offshore in particular,
02:21players with installations of our coast and the security initiatives have been embarked upon
02:29and we are monitoring on a daily basis any threat that we may see.
02:33Again, I'm not at liberty to speak in detail of the issues involved,
02:38but we have been in touch with the Chief of Defence staff and his team,
02:42the Minister of Defence, the Minister of Homeland Security.
02:46There appear to be a particular focus on oil and gas exploration in local waters.
02:50We have been in touch with the oil majors here, particularly those offshore,
02:57and we are sure that they have also taken action.
03:01As I keep reminding people as well, some of the players who are involved with us,
03:05they're probably more accustomed to global conflict than us
03:08because they operate in parts of the world where this might actually be, you know, norm.
03:13It's true in Tobago. We don't, you know, often have, you know, any involvement to global conflicts that way.
03:20We have received news from them that they have taken, you know, all their precautionary requirements
03:26in collaboration with their own intelligence and security infrastructure.
03:32The Energy Minister provided no further details.
03:35On Friday, West Texas Intermediate oil and Brent crude oil prices averaged U.S. $90 per barrel
03:43and U.S. $92 per barrel, respectively.
03:47Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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