There are signals from Government that it is considering supplying small scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the Caribbean and Latin America.Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine has raised the possibility saying that there are investors interested in building a small scale LNG plant in T&T to export it to the region.Gasfin treats with the provision of small to mid-scale LNG production, shipping, regasification and distribution solutions.Ramnarine said while in London last month, he had met with Gasfin Development SA, which indicated an interest in constructing the small scale plant that would require a mere 70 million standard cubic per day (mmscfd) as opposed to Atlantic's smallest train that uses 400 mmscfd.
Ramnarine's signals come as there appears increasing interest in the Caribbean and Latin American region as destinations for LNG, particularly with weak LNG prices in the United States due to an abundance of shale gas.He said: "We met with the Minister of Energy from Panama, who indicated to me that his country was headed towards constructing a re-gasification terminal. There is, therefore, the opportunity for T&T to once again be a pioneer in LNG and to play the role as guarantor of regional energy security."Three Caribbean countries-the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Haiti-have been studying the potential for cleaner burning and cheaper LNG. Should it remain significantly cheaper than oil, natural gas could provide an important additional piece to reducing these islands' expenditures on energy imports, even though gas, too, would have to be imported, most likely in the form of LNG.
Natural gas availability and price may have constrained Caribbean investment in natural gas power plants in the past, but these two factors may present decreasing obstacles in the future. Increasing LNG consumption in the Caribbean would most likely be supplied by imports from T&T or the US.Some Caribbean countries' natural gas consumption has already increased. Puerto Rico began importing LNG in 2000 to fuel a 540-megawatt (MW) combined cycle power plant, while the Andres LNG regasification terminal in the Dominican Republic feeds that the DR's 304 MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant.On November 14, the government of Jamaica began evaluating six proposals from companies hoping to supply LNG for a planned floating LNG storage and regasification terminal. The terminal, for which bids will be submitted on January 13, 2012, would provide Jamaica with its first supplies of natural gas, a fuel that the government believes will play a leading role in reducing the country's dependence on expensive heavy fuel oil imports. Jamaica spends 13 per cent of its gross domestic product on importing energy.
Jamaica has been seriously exploring the potential for importing LNG since 2001, and in 2004, signed a memorandum of understanding with the then Patrick Manning administration for the importation of natural gas. Although this deal was shelved in 2006, LNG has remained a centrepiece of Jamaica's fuel diversification strategy.The main customers during the terminal's first phase would be the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), the country's major power utility; Jamaica Energy Partners (JEP), an independent power producer; and Jamalco, a bauxite and aluminum company. For these companies, some of the largest energy consumers on the island, switching from heavy fuel oil to LNG could mean a significant cost reduction. And, since LNG also burns more cleanly than heavy fuel oil, Jamaica is hoping that fuel switching will deliver environmental benefits.T&T is the world's most diversified exporter of LNG.