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Rowley called on the prime minister and the cabinet to
give data and details on this alleged massive oil find.
Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley has dismissed government’s announcement of a major oil find as a hoax.
This assertion was supported by Diego Martin North East MP Colm Imbert who said the “alleged discovery has all the distinguishing features of a hoax. No two ways about it”.
Speaking at a news conference at the opposition leader’s Port-of-Spain office, both MPs slammed government for taking the population “up a gum tree” with this “propaganda of a massive oil discovery”.
Rowley said the discovery was not new given that in 2007 Petrotrin had commissioned a study on the area of the find by Vetra Consultants. Last year, four appraisal wells were drilled, three confirmed the presence of the reservoir and one was dry, he said. He stressed that a detailed development plan to determine the reserves and their commercial viability now has to be done.
He claimed that Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar was driven to make the announcement by political considerations.
“On the day and very time when this announcement was made, the prime minister should have been meeting with her coalition partners to deal with political jhanjat [confusion] ... To distract the population from the effects of those kinds of political developments, lo and behold, we have the prime minister postponing her meeting ... and making an announcement geared solely, knowingly and deliberately to mislead the population and to put people in a feel-good mood ... that great things are happening ; that God is a Trini; we have a Jubilee oilfield; and very soon, in a matter of weeks, 12 months, we would be pumping oil,” he said.
In the process, Rowley said, the reputation and credibility of the Ministry of Energy for competence in dealing with the country’s economic lifeblood has been sullied and the country was being made a fool of in multinational circles.
“We have never had a problem before with treating with matters in the energy sector,” he said. “We are professionals at that. We are one of the oldest oil-producing areas in the world. And we built up expertise both professionally and politically in dealing with it.”
Imbert, meanwhile, stated that in 2002, BHP Billiton discovered one billion barrels of oil from the North East Coast and one trillion cubic feet of natural gas, called the Angostura complex, which was “twenty times the size of this alleged discovery”.
He added that it was obvious that the technical people at Petrotrin were embarrassed by the statements of the politicians since they (the technical people) have made “very telling comments” such as: the quantity of the oil has not been proven; the commercial viability of the discovery has not yet been established; and they are not sure about the mix of oil.
Imbert said it could cost Petrotrin as much as $75 a barrel to produce this oil, and if the price it got was $75 a barrel, then there would be no profit. We don’t yet know if we would get any money from this oil, he added.
Rowley called on the prime minister and the cabinet to give data and details on this alleged massive oil find
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Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and PETROTRIN chairman Lindsay Gillette, centre, display containers of heavy and light crude oil. At left is PETROTRIN’s president-designate Khalid Hassanali.
The state-owned oil company, PETROTRIN, says it has discovered a well with an estimated 48 million barrels of crude in shallow water wells just off the coast of Point Fortin.
PETROTRIN officials said that the find is the best in the last 10 years and Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar told reporters that the oil find re-affirms that indeed "God is a Trini".
"As a result of the jubilee discovery by PETROTRIN as a state owned company decisions can be made faster and easier and you can be assured there will be no squandering of these very precious resources but every penny derived will go towards genuine people-centred development in several areas," she said.
"So what does it now mean for the man in the street, for the citizen of Trinidad and Tobago? In a phrase if I would sum it, I would say better times in the best of initiatives that will benefit you the citizen of Trinidad and Tobago," she added.
"Let us first be sure to accept with humility the intervention of a purpose far greater than ourselves and to give praise where praise is first due—to Almighty God for what he has bestowed upon this nation at this time," she said.
The Prime Minister suggested that PETROTRIN convene a day of "prayerful gratitude" to recognise the contribution of the company's employees.
PETROTRIN’s president-designate Khalid Hassanali said the company, which was engaged in aggressive drilling, discovered the oil off the Gulf of Paria four miles west of Point Fortin in 60 feet of water.
Comment
That PM need to keep her mouth shout !!!!!! All Trini people do is fete that's what they do best .
Anyone looking at this photo and others and not knowing the culture and history of the country would ask if the folks in Trinidad are all East Indians. Why? Because that's all is shown by the delusional UNC led PP. The dysfunctional UNC led PP is the worst ever elected poltical party in the history of Trinidad and Tobago. These worthless folks want to ensure their people succeed while others continue to suffer while labelling the young black youths from behind the bridge and surrounding areas as gang members.
Not a black person in site
I am a Trini, but I am always appalled by that statement "God is a Trini" what are we alluding to, that God is bias and partial to us and therefore we would be blessed with natural resources and be spared from hurricanes? Fellow Trinbagonians, please be mindful of the things you say.
I wouldn't hold my breath if I was the avg Trini on the Street...48mm bls of which perhaps 70% is recoverable x approx $100p/bl = $3.4bln worth of oil. Not an "insignificant" amount, but over 10yrs, $340mm is not going to improve TnT enonomy that much UNLESS the government provides for investments in "small" to medium size businesses. If it's the status quo - TnT will continue to see more violence and civil disruption...
THE RICH JUS GONNA GET RICHER THIS WILL HAV NO EFFECT ON THE GARRISONS OF TRINIDAD [laventille,sealots,beetham etc.] I SURE OF DAT SMH !!!
OH LAWD NOW WATCH THE DAMN TRINNI DEM A GUH POP STYLE PON THE REST A WE..... GOD THANKS FOR GIVING THEM THAT BLESSING THEY DESERVE IT
Go Trinidad! Invest well and vote back the PNM for real continued progress!
I love my country............I have to agree with my Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar...God is in Trini
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