Trinidad's Prime Minister Patrick Manning. - File

Supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Jamaica is now a national priority for Trinidad and Tobago, Prime Minister Patrick Manning told lawmakers Wednesday at a sitting of Parliament.

Repeating sentiments made on a political platform over the weekend, Manning said Trinidad was now able to supply Jamaica because of two recent developments.

"The first is the economic downturn, caused by the financial situation, where the world's supply and demand situation for gas has changed and a supply of gas might now become available from Trinidad and Tobago.

"And secondly, new techno-logical developments in regasifi-cation, have now allowed us to be able to export gas to countries like Brazil and Chile, " he said.

In the new environment, he said, there is no longer the need to construct regasification terminals. Floating terminals can be used on an itinerant basis with considerable reduction in regasification costs.

"In those circumstances, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago now considers that a supply of LNG to Jamaica for the stimulation of investments in the alumina sector, to be a matter of national priority," said the PM.

Trinidad, he added, was also confident that as the country's first aluminum smelter plant is built, it can enter into a guaranteed arrangement for Jamaica to supply the Alutrint facility with alumina.

Foreign exchange earnings

The arrangement would, he said, mean substantial foreign exchange earnings for Jamaica and the opportunity to reduce the imbalance in trade between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

Trinidad and Jamaica in 2004 signed a memorandum of understanding for the supply of 1.1 million tones of LNG per annum over a 20-year period, beginning 2009 for use by Jamalco - a refinery co-owned by the Jamaican government and Alcoa - and monopoly power distributor, Jamaica Public Service Company.

The two countries, however, had early disagreement about the terms of the arrangement, which pundits had expected to become an early test case for the Caribbean Court of Justice.

Also, at the time the agreement was signed, it was subject to availability of gas, and there was on the drawing board, the drilling of a major exploration well which the government anticipated could have met the specific requirement of sending gas to Jamaica.

Jamaica, too, would have been required to invest in pipeline infrastructure and storage for the gas, which has not yet occurred.

The well, however, was abandoned before it reached its target depth after an expenditure of US$80 million.

"Therefore, Mr Speaker, the Trinidad and Tobago gas situation did not put us in a position then to supply the gas to Jamaica," said Manning.

"More than that, the cost of regasification in Jamaica was so high that it would have made alumina manufacture uneconomic," he said.

Trinidad and Tobago's Atlantic LNG four processing trains have a total production capacity of 15 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa).

The trains convert natural gas cooled to liquid for transport in tankers.

It is regasified at terminals for transport ashore through pipelines.

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