The revelation in today’s Sunday Business Guardian of two incidents in which energy related installations have been shot at, is worrying and speaks to the growing lawlessness in the country.
On Thursday gunmen shot at the facilities of Trinidad Offshore Fabricators Company Limited at the LABIDCO industrial estate in La Brea, in what police suspect was an attempt to intimidate the company to hire additional people.
This followed closely on the heels of another reported shooting incident, this time at the construction site of Caribbean Gas Chemicals Limited, La Brea.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries which is the lead contractor on the project was forced to send home all its workers on the overnight shift.
The two incidents took place on the LABIDCO and Union Industrial Estates. Both are managed by National Energy, a state company that is part of the NGC group of companies.
That gunmen could so easily shoot at energy infrastructure and not even be challenged is a reflection of the level of criminality in the country and the lack of readiness of National Energy to protect the estate.
In response to a number of questions from Guardian Media, the company claimed that it had no reports of any shooting at its industrial estates.
"National Energy has received no reports of shooting on either the Union or the La Brea Industrial Estate."
But curiously it is now investigating things that sounded like gunshots.
National Energy said, "However, the company is currently investigating a report of (what sounded like) gun shots last evening on the La Brea Industrial Estate. These reports are currently being investigated by National Energy and the TTPS, and National Energy has heightened its security."
National Energy told Guardian Media that it was committed to ensuring the safety and security of all its tenants within its estate and continued to work with tenants and ‘remind them of the need to implement effective security measures against ill intent’.
The company also noted it had hired Colonel George Robinson to advise on security management.
The country’s energy infrastructure is too important and must be protected against all comers. This is, after all, the economic lifeblood of the country. For thugs to feel so emboldened that they can on two occasions in a week shoot at facilities managed by National Energy speaks volumes to the lack of preparedness of National Energy and the confidence of the perpetrators.
It is also worrying that this incident takes place in La Brea, a community with a rich legacy in the oil and gas business and one which, like many other hosts communities, have not gotten their commensurate opportunities with the challenges they face in being a host community.
However, as we saw before with the take-your-rig-and-go comment, trying to shake down a company or acting in a way that is inimical to your own interest leads to a loss of investment and opportunity.