Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley is contending that people do not care whether the People's Partnership stays together or not. He was speaking at a media conference at his Charles Street, Port-of-Spain, office on Monday called to react to Government's announcement last week of Petrotrin's new oil find. "This country does not care whether the coalition holds or it doesn't hold. What the country is concerned about is whether the Government is able to govern properly and effectively," Dr Rowley said. He said the oil-find announcement was intended to distract public attention from the internal problems affecting the coalition government.
Prakash Ramadhar, leader of the Congress of the People (COP), a member of the People's Partnership said last week the United National Congress had "poached" Marlene Coudray (from the COP), who was elected deputy political leader of the UNC on March 24. Ramadhar stated after last week's special meeting of the COP executive in Charlieville, Chaguanas, that if the Fyzabad Declaration, which he said provided for a COP mayor of San Fernando, was not adhered to, the party would have nothing further to talk about in the PP Government. A special leadership meeting of the PP called to discuss the issue, among other matters, began on Thursday evening and was scheduled to resume on yesterday. But Dr Rowley said yesterday, citizens were not concerned about the PP's internal problems. Dealing with the Jubilee oil find in the Soldado field off Trinidad's southwest coast, Rowley described it as a "hoax".
The PNM leader said the find was not new because since 2007 the Petroleum Company of T&T (Petrotrin) had commissioned a study to do a field development plan for the area. This, he said, was undertaken by the Venezuelan firm Vetra Consultants.
Dr Rowley said two scenarios were evaluated:
• Where the total value for the project life of 20 years is US$703 million with investments of US$107 million
• For the same period of 20 years for revenues of US$140 million and expenses of about US$165 million.
Dr Rowley said the "48 million barrels (oil production) as reported is incorrect and cannot be evaluated by any proper standards at this time." He accused the Ministry of Energy of misrepresenting the facts, and that Petrotrin should be "held accountable for providing data that cannot stand up to scrutiny." He said the announcement was a hoax similar to the alleged threat to assassinate the prime minister and three Cabinet ministers last November during the State of Emergency. Opposition MP Colm Imbert who also spoke at yesterday's news conference, shared Rowley's view. He, too, described the announcement as a "hoax".