Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine said yesterday that the Government has given Jamaica a commitment that T&T is willing to reopen talks on the possibility of this country supplying Jamaica with LNG. Speaking with reporters after the opening ceremony of the Trade and Investment Convention which is being held at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, Ramnarine said that the previous administration had started talks with Jamaica about the supply of LNG.
"The cost of energy in Jamaica is really affecting the country now. We take it for granted in T&T we pay four to five cents per kilo watt. Jamaica is ten times more. There are some residents who can't afford electricity for their homes because they can't afford. It doesn't happen in T&T," said the Energy Minister.
Ramnarine said he and Trade Minister Stephen Cadiz met with Jamaica's Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Anthony Hylton, and gave him a commitment "that we would re-open dialogue with the Jamaicans with the view of supplying them with LNG. We have also gone with a request for proposals for the construction of a re-gasification terminal, so they are preparing themselves to receive LNG.
"Mr Hylton said they would need 3 million tonnes per annum. Our LNG is sold to 21 countries around the world we make 15 million. Ramnarine told the reporters that he is expected to meet with Guyana's Minister of Natural Resources, Robert Persaud who will be on a two-day visit to T&T next week.
The ministers are expected to discuss how T&T can partner with Guyana to develop that country's energy sector, Ramnarine told reporters yesterday, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain. "Trinidad has to play a huge role in supporting the development of the oil industry in Guyana, supporting them in terms of services, in terms of people and so on.
"The Guyanese government has also asked us to appoint a T&T representative to be on the petroleum advisory committee. I have asked Petrotrin to recommend somebody to serve on that committee. "They need someone who is a geologist or geophysicist to help them."
Asked what type of services can T&T provide he said: "We have like cementing services, we have welding services, we have labour supply. We can also provide them with a lot of materials that they need. For example right now we are coating pipe for the Venezuelans ... it is an opportunity for T&T."