PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – Trinidad Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Wednesday said that a Trinidad and Tobago delegation is to visit Venezuela shortly “to ensure we get our just share of the oil and gas that we partly own”.

Addressing a handing over ceremony for six fire tenders in Penal in south Trinidad, Prime Persad-Bissessar told the audience “We’ve been working really hard with the government of the United States and other governments and that shortly a diplomatic delegation will depart … to go to Venezuela to ensure we get our just share of the oil and gas that we partly own through the NGC (National Gas Company)”.

“And so whilst we look to safety and security in this sense we are looking for your safety and security in economic space which is very important,” she added.

Last week, the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago said that the country’s natural gas sector could receive a meaningful boost from 2027 as regional cooperation gains momentum and a new wave of upstream projects led by BP and Shell moves towards first gas.

It said that these developments are expected to provide welcome relief to the downstream sector and improve feed gas availability for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) operations.

“While they may not fully close the country’s supply gap, they create a stronger platform for growth and reinforce the importance of cross-border gas as part of a longer-term solution,” the chamber said.

It said that Atlantic LNG has operated below its installed capacity of 33 million cubic metres in recent years as feed gas shortages reduced utilisation and contributed to the shutdown of Train 1 in 2020.

“But that spare capacity also highlights the upside available to Trinidad and Tobago as new gas volumes come into the system and existing infrastructure can be put to fuller use,” the chamber added.

It said rather than simply filling a shortfall, Venezuelan gas can be seen as a strategic complement to domestic production and a way to extend the life and value of Trinidad and Tobago’s LNG and petrochemical industries.

Energy Minister Roodal Moonilal said in March that the US energy company, Chevron had reached out for discussions on cooperation in the energy sector, “not just exploration and production, but some matters pertaining to storage,” and that he had previously discussed using Trinidad and Tobago as a hub for shipments of oil from Venezuela.

Moonilal also said the closure of the refinery had forced Trinidad and Tobago to buy liquid fuels and that a working Guaracara refinery would have been a “true windfall” in the current price environment.