Opinion
- Editorial - Commentary
Trinidad
Express:
Seeking the best price for T&T's LNG
When Prime Minister Patrick Manning told a group
of top energy industry executives last week that
the time had come for Trinidad and Tobago to look
at other markets for its liquefied natural gas exports,
clearly he was exercising a sovereign right.
Pointing
to the fact that most of T&T's LNG exports currently
go to the US market, Manning argued that his country
is going to have to decide whether it wishes to
continue placing all of its eggs in one basket.
Hinting
that Mexico and Brazil eventually might be considered
as potential clients for T&T's LNG, the Prime
Minister insisted that too much of our LNG goes
to one destination and, incidentally at prices that
are not by any means the best prices that are available
on the market.
In
the same speech he delivered at the launching of
the BGTT Energy Luncheon Series, he also made the
argument that T&T consistently has been a stable
and reliable supplier of energy to the United States
and, therefore is due "some consideration"
in its bilateral trade dealings. In other words,
Manning reiterated his call for preferential access
to the US market for goods packaged in Trinidad.
The
Prime Minister's new energy diplomacy approach should
be given some serious consideration in Washington.
While
Manning's arguments may sound tough, there has been
no indication that his government would do anything
to breach any long-term provisions in existing contracts
governing LNG supplies to the US market. That would
suggest that Trinidad and Tobago intends to remain
a stable and reliable energy supplier to the United
States. But it is quite understandable that Manning
would want to look at any other scenario where,
as he said, a shift of markets will have an immediate
and significant increase in revenue for us.
Other
considerations aside, obviously the objective is
to secure the best prices for a nonrenewable resource
such as LNG. Competition, a key ingredient of any
economy, might very well dictate that T&T eventually
might have to reshape its LNG export strategy.
Trinidad
Express
Friday, September 15th 2006
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© 2006 The
Trinidad Express.
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