Hard times hit Trinidad and Tobago

On Sunday, the government of Trinidad and Tobago appointed a seven-person committee to review operations at the Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago.

The committee was formed in response to Finance Minister Colm Imbert’s revelation to Parliament that the company’s 2016 losses had reached USD 4.5 billion.

In January 2017, Prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Keith Rowley, in a televised address hinted at an overhaul of state-run Petrotrin, saying the government and taxpayers could no longer “continue to turn a blind eye or be uninterested in the challenges” facing Petrotrin.

Labelling the company’s payroll ratio as “exceptionally high,” the PM said Petrotrin’s performance was weighed down by an annual wage bill of more than USD 280 million (TTD 1.9 billion).

Once the committee’s review has been made it will make restructuring recommendations. The company’s difficulties have been attributed to mismanagement, the sharp decline in global oil prices as well as decreasing revenue.

In other news, in January 2017, Atlantic LNG saw production fall by 9% compared to the same period in 2016. LNG production at the complex reached only 2.2 mcm (77.7 mcf). LNG sales for the same month have also decreased, down 8% compared to the previous year. Atlantic LNG is not alone in its sales and production decline.

Trinidad and Tobago’s seven natural gas producers have cumulatively suffered a 12% drop in production to an average of 93.4 mcm (3.3 bcf) per day. This is compared to previous years where cumulative production reached an average of 108 mcm-116 mcm (3.8 bcf-4.1 bcf) per day.

As with many of Trinidad and Tobago’s woes, natural gas curtailments are attributed to the decline in production