A gas sales agreement has been reached between the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) and Trinidad Nitrogen Company Limited (TRINGEN).
President of Clean Ammonia - Yara International Magnus Krogh Ankarstrand said the the three-year agreement was heartening for the industry.
“Having secured gas supplies for the next three years in Tringen is vital for Yara. Tringen is an extremely important part of our ammonia network and as the world’s largest ammonia supplier and distributor it is crucial for us to have predictability in our gas supply,” said Ankarstrand in his presentation during the virtual signing.
He also noted impact of COVID-19 on the industry made such an agreement even more pivotal for the industry.
TRINGEN is 51 per cent owned by National Enterprises Limited (NEL) and and 49 per cent by Yara Caribbean (2002) Ltd, operates two (2) ammonia plants and gas turbine power generation, It has been operating companies in the Point Lisas Industrial Estate for over 40 years and is currently the NGC’s fourth largest petrochemical customer.
TRINGEN chairman Karen Darbasie also highlighted the importance of the agreement which came to be after almost two years of negotiations.
During the course of the agreement, there were numerous challenged including the closure of Yara’s smallest Ammonia plant in December 2019.
“The signing of the gas, sales agreement helps to mitigate one key aspect of the uncertainty relating to the external environment that affects the sector. As stakeholders in the energy industry, it is incumbent on us to ensure that the domestic economic environment is conducive to long-term sustainability and to create an environment which encourages investment into the sector, “ said Darbasie.
But even as Yara was welcoming the new gas contract Ankarstrand was making it clear that his company has no intentions of restarting the ammonia plant that it shut down at the end of 2019.
He said it was the wholly owned Yara plant was the oldest, smallest and least competitive of his company’s plants and there was little point in its restart.
Ankarstrand admitted that Yara had an interest in clean ammonia and that it was exploring those opportunities in light of the push to renewables.
The event also marked the first address of Minister of Energy Stuart Young in his new role, during his addressed he hailed the contribution of the late Minister Franklin Khan for his part in the process.
“Minister Khan and myself worked alongside those of you in the room who are in the Energy Industry over the past few years and I’m glad to see that his hard work and dedication has come to yet another momentous occasion in the continuation of the Energy industry in Trinidad and Tobago,” said Young.
The company has been one of the more successful joint ventures for Trinidad and Tobago over the past 25 years.
This agreement will ensure that TRINGEN’s two ammonia plants (TRINGEN I and TRINGEN II) remain a part of the country’s downstream landscape at the Point. Lisas industrial estate.