Two months after energy company officials, led by the South Trinidad Chamber of Industry and Commerce (STCIC), visited Niger and Ghana, the parties are now close to signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen energy business ties.
Otunba Funso Lawal, of the Petroleum Club, said members of the STCIC visited Nigeria between September and October to observe Nigeria and Ghana’s energy sector and met with officials at service companies there. Lawal said members of the delegation comprising of officials from Nigeria and Ghana have observed T&T’s energy sector and the prospects of doing business are promising. “For us, there are a lot of areas where there can be development. We learnt the ropes, we know the problems. We have also been able to take care of our problems. “The only way we believe is the best way to go forward, we hope we would conclude it before we leave T&T, is through a MOU between the Petroleum Club and the STCIC,” Lawal said.
Speaking at a news conference held aboard the Serenade of the Seas cruise ship yesterday, Dr Thackwray Driver, chief executive officer of STCIC, said going to Ghana and Nigeria was fruitful. “It was an opportunity to rekindle our relationships particularly with the Petroleum Club and with the government of Ghana.” Chief Bintan Famutimi, executive at Nigeria-based Tricontinental Oil Services Ltd, believes T&T can benefit from Nigeria’s energy sector, especially regarding hydrocarbons. “We still have so much gas and oil that industries here can come partner with us and explore. It is a natural fix,” Famutimi said. He said Nigeria is considered a big producer of hydrocarbons and has proven reserves of up to 40 billion barrels of oil. “We are still making more discoveries because we are at the early stage of going offshore. Production started on land, then swamp, then shallow offshore and now we are going deep offshore and we are still making new finds,” Famutimi said.
