Sharing energy
expertise to fight poverty
By
Roxanne Stapleton
Trinidad Express
Port
Spain
Petroleumworld.com
09 17 06
TRINIDAD
AND Tobago's contribution to combatting poverty
across the African continent already has begun to
take tangible form.
In fact, Prime Minister Patrick
Manning last week pointed to real overtures made
by his administration, which are already in train,
in the wake of continued pleas by the United Nations
and other global agencies, for countries who are
in better economic shape, to help combat the scourge
which results in starvation of thousands and the
death of hundreds.
Manning, in addressing top world
oil and gas executives and members of the diplomatic
corps, at the first installment of the BG Trinidad
and Tobago Luncheon Series, which was held at the
Hilton Port of Spain, uncapped his Government's
plan to assist in tackling world hunger and poverty,
while they try to do the same at home, which he
said should lead to a better quality of life across
the board.
Manning in revelatory flow, said:
"Recently oil was discovered in Belize and
the Government of Belize approached the Government
of Trinidad and Tobago for assistance.
"We first sent an engineer,
Andrew Jupiter (chairman Caricom Energy Task Force)
and then we sent an economist from the Ministry
of Energy to Belize and when I visited Belize recently,
they spoke of the work of these two gentlemen in
glowing terms.
"Their contributions made a
significant difference to among other things, the
tax regime under which oil is to be produced in
Belize and I dare say in due course, not far off,
a significant difference in the revenue position
of that country on the basis of its oil exports.
"I think the well tested about
4,000 barrels per day, which is not insignificant
at all.
"And we did it for Belize and
they didn't have to pay for it.
"It is the discussions with
the Belizean authorities that caused me to think
very carefully of what the United Nations (UN),
has been doing for some time - drawing attention
to world poverty.
"You ask yourself the question
is there a contribution that Trinidad and Tobago
could make in response to all of these invitations
by the UN and other international agencies, to do
something.
"What can we do as a small
developing country to interface positively on the
eradication of poverty in those countries in the
same way that we are committed to poverty eradication
in our own country.
"It was stimulated by a visit
we had recently from a delegation from Equatorial
Guinea. They didn't come to the Government, they
went to the
more of that.
"Recently, the Cabinet approved
a coordinating committee - technocrats in the social
sector, feeding into a ministerial committee and
the committee is headed by Dr Carla Noel of BHP
Billiton and so it goes.
"And more and more you are
going to see the expertise of the energy sector
being pressed into service in other areas of national
development.
"And if BGTT and other oil
companies would like to assist us - the area of
greatest concern at this time is the Water and Sewerage
Authority (WASA).
"Water production... it is
a huge problem - it is a $27 billion problem and
one that will not just go away, but we have to bring
all the expertise of the country to be on it...
in addressing this very complex, national issue
of water production and water supply.
"And incidentally, we are not
unique in this regard - the problem exists in the
entire Caribbean.
On the regional front, Manning continued:
"We are committed to supplying gas in the region
- LNG in Jamaica.
"Pipeline gas - we are committed
to supplying Barbados with gas, when the gas is
available... it's a timing issue... and of course
at a pipeline gas price, a little better than they
normally would have been able to get elsewhere.
"And we are determined to develop
Tobago as a centre for exports of natural gas in
the form of compressed natural gas - a new technology
that is emerging.
"We discussed gas supplies
to the Cove Estate in Tobago, we are committed to
doing that - NGC has been mandated to do the work
to install the pipeline and we'll have to discuss
how we finance it.
"Tobago is going to be an essential
part of this, as we commit ourselves to a programme
of keeping Tobago green.
"The time has come for us to
revisit Tobago. Next year between Carnival and World
Cup Cricket 2007, which is in March, we intend to
convene in Tobago - the energy sector domestically
and interested parties from abroad.
"What we will discuss is where
goes the energy sector of Trinidad and Tobago.
"We are bringing all stakeholders
local and foreign - we are going to have presentations,
we will hear the views of the private sector, we
will hear the views of state entities and we will
come to some conclusion as to where Trinidad and
Tobago goes and it includes a refining industry."
Trinidad
Express
Friday, September 15th 2006
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