Minister Moonilal: T&T Unfazed After Venezuela Announces Cancellation Of Natural Gas Deals
Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Dr. Roodal Moonilal, is today dismissing an announcement from the Venezuelan government that it will immediately cancel all deals and negotiations to supply natural gas to Trinidad and Tobago, in retaliation for the recent seizing of an oil tanker by the US military.
In a voice note to TTT News, Dr. Moonilal said the Venezuelan authorities should direct their complaints to President Donald Trump, as it is the United States military that seized the sanctioned oil tanker last week.
Minister Moonilal said the Trinidad and Tobago government is not bothered by the threat.
« In the meanwhile, we continue to have very peaceful and fraternal relations with the people of Venezuela. This statement is just an example of propaganda. We have never depended on Venezuela for natural gas supplies. We have adequate reserves within our territory. We are aggressively working to reduce bureaucratic barriers so that we can speed up approvals and licences and so on for the energy companies. »
The Energy Minister said the real issue is the bureaucracy and red tape which has been hindering our exploration and production over the years.
He said the release from the Venezuelan government is an act of hypocrisy.
« Since the government of Venezuela continues to engage with the USA, and it is Chevron that is today exporting heavy crude oil to the refiners in the US Gulf Coast. So they continue to do business in the oil industry with the United States but then make these rash, these reckless, and erroneous statements about Trinidad and Tobago. I condemn it. It is propaganda, and we will continue to work with our partners in the region and elsewhere so that we will collaborate, build, and rebuild our energy industry after the collapse of the last 10 years under the PNM administration. After the decline in production in oil and gas, we are finally on the right track and have recorded increases in both oil production and gas production. »
