ENERGY giant Shell will continue to invest in Trinidad and Tobago. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar addressing the Summit of the Americas Chief Executive Officers conference Friday, said she had been given the assurance from the chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell, Ben van Beurden, on the same day of the acquisition earlier this week.
Addressing the summit on the “Energy: Fuelling America’s Growth,” Persad-Bissessar said i“Shell confirmed their acquisition of BG Group and committed to continue investing in Trinidad and Tobago.
“The extent of our participation in global energy is made clearer when we note that Trinidad and Tobago accounts for 17 per cent of BP’s global volumes and 13 per cent of BG’s global volumes.
“And our energy sector now finds itself holding strongly at the centre of a new dynamic with the Royal Dutch Shell acquisition of BG Group for £47 billion. BG is our second largest gas producer, and is a shareholder in the Atlantic facility which includes four LNG trains.
“Shell is also a shareholder in Atlantic through its buyout of Repsol’s interest in 2013. And the BG assets in Trinidad & Tobago will of course be an important factor in how the acquisition is finalised” she told the conference.
Persad-Bissessar said as an energy brand, Trinidad and Tobago is highly regarded globally as the world’s largest exporter of ammonia and methanol, and the world’s sixth largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
“Our LNG trade is therefore well integrated into the Americas,” she said, “which places us as partners in the economic development of the countries within our markets.
“This leadership position has been won over many years of political stability and peace; deep regard for the rule of law, and our reputation for always honouring the sanctity of contracts,” she told delegates.
But she said that while energy remains the cornerstone of the country’s economic growth, her administration has over the last five years sought to reconfigure the economy by shifting away from an over-reliance on the energy sector.
“Economic diversification has become a major component of our economic policies for sustainability.
This has seen a marked strengthening of the manufacturing sector, and of course the financial services sector which has been modernised through a number of regulatory and legislative changes.”
She said also core to the economic transformation is a vision to create a property owning, knowledge driven democracy.
