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Rowley demands Govt explain plant move
Published:
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Leader of the Opposition Dr Keith Rowley is demanding that government “give a full explanation” why it has decided to move the construction of a methanol to petrochemicals complex and a methanol of olefins project from the La Brea Industrial Estate to Point Lisas. In an interview yesterday, at the Hyatt Regency, the Opposition leader insisted that the move was contrary to the developmental plans of the country and that it was not dissimilar to an approach adopted by the last UNC government to the people of La Brea. Dr Rowley said: “The PNM is very disappointed that the Government has decided not to place the plants at La Brea, which has been developed at great cost to the taxpayers for the very reason these plants are being constructed.
“The Government promised that they would find plants for La Brea after their decision to pull the smelter and we are very disappointed that they have moved them to Point Lisas.” The Guardian on Monday reported exclusively that government had quietly decided to move the plants. The increasingly controversial projects are yet to have final approval from the Cabinet following major issues raised by some members of the Cabinet over the price of natural gas being offered to the Saudi Arabian state-owned company Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC). The proposal by SABIC to build a methanol-to-petrochemicals complex and a methanol-to-olefins plant will use more an a quarter billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. If approved, the plant will be constructed at a time when there is a shortage of natural gas and when plants on the Point Lisas estate are operating at a 30 per cent curtailment.
Dr Rowley argued that any suggestion that the project was too large for La Brea was a farce since Point Lisas was full. He said it was a clear plan of the country to move plants to other areas of the country so that some of the economic hardships the people of La Brea and other similar communities are facing can be addressed. He also took offence to the preferential gas pricing arrangements which, he said, if offered to SABIC at Point Lisas will open the door to other users demanding lower prices. “We have seen this happen before with the UNC, remember Farmland Misschem when they offered the company the same greenfield terms even though they had moved it from La Brea to Point Lisas? That led to others demanding the same prices and the country took a hit twice.” Rowley said. The SABIC project does not include the construction of an acetic acid plant considered a key part in the strategy to make the country enter into the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. Acetic acid or ethanoic acid is one of the world’s most important chemicals and is used in a variety of products: textiles, food processing and pharmaceuticals. It is commonly known as vinega and is an important chemical used to produce downstream products.
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