Page 7 - LatAmOil Week 11 2022

LatAmOil TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO LatAmOil

Trinidad and Tobago does produce some crude oil but relies on imported petroleum products (Image: NP.co.tt)

This dependence on imports becomes more Under these circumstances, Rowley said, the
costly when oil prices go up, he said. Moreover, question is whether the government can find
it is all the more burdensome in light of Port the funds it would need to continue insulating
of Spain’s long-standing policy of subsidising the country’s residents from the impact of a pro-
domestic fuel prices with revenues from natural longed increase in world oil prices. Officials in
gas sales, which are deposited into the Heritage Port of Spain will have to make a decision on this
and Stabilisation Fund (HSF), he explained. front soon, he remarked.
“If the oil price is at $110 [per barrel], the esti- He also indicated that if global crude prices
mated levy would be $509mn, but the subsidy remained above $100 per barrel for a long
would be $2.9bn, and if it goes up [to], say $120- period, Trinidad and Tobago might need to
125, in that area, the estimated subsidy would be borrow as much as TTD767mn ($113mn) to
in the order of $4bn, and the [sovereign wealth] continue funding its fuel subsidy programme.
fund will have in it about $600mn,” he com- Despite these questions, though, the price sup-
mented. “If it goes up to $150, the government’s ports will remain in place for the time being, he
liability for subsidy would be $4.48bn.” added. ™

COLOMBIA
Duque says Colombia can supply oil to US

COLOMBIAN President Iván Duque met with
US President Joe Biden in Washington last week
to discuss energy security amid the ongoing
Russian military incursion in Ukraine.
During the meeting, Duque said that his
country would make its crude oil available to the
US market as required in order to help stabilise
global energy prices.
“Colombia can contribute, and we want to
contribute to the stability [of] world prices of
energy, especially in the circumstances we are
living,” he declared.
The meeting between the two leaders took
place after a team of US officials travelled to Ven-
ezuela for talks with President Nicolás Maduro Duque (L) and Biden (R) met on March 10 (Photo: Twitter/@POTUS)
to explore the possibility of lifting US restric-
tions on the sale of that country’s oil. immediately. “Colombia today is a country that
Duque, for his part, sought to distinguish has more capacity to supply hydrocarbons than
Colombia from Venezuela, saying that it was in a Venezuela has,” he stated in a press conference
better position to deliver more oil to the market following his meeting with Biden.

Week 11 17•March•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P7