Proman is with T&T for the next 10 years with a US$1.1 billion investment.
Proman, one of the world’s largest methanol and fertiliser producers, yesterday reiterated its commitment to T&T by highlighting its planned investment of US$1.1 billion over the next 10 years for major plant maintenance turnarounds at Point Lisas.
And Proman will also pursue other energy transition initiatives and opportunities in T&T.
This was indicated by the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday, after Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley met with Proman Chief Executive David Cassidy and his executive at the company’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
Rowley is on an overseas trip to meet energy company officials, including Proman, Shell and BP representatives.
Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Stuart Young was also present yesterday.
Proman is a global leader in natural gas-derived products.
The T&T team’s meeting came as the price of natural gas was recently at record highs due to the Russian/Ukraine war. Yesterday’s price was (US)$8.9/MMBTU (Trade Economics).
Bloomberg and Reuters yesterday also reported that Europe was scrambling to respond as gas prices “rocketed “ by as much as 30 per cent, after Moscow “tightened the screws on gas” and halted its Nord Stream pipeline flows to the Europe Union. This has been described by international media as an upcoming “energy attack“ on Europe.
The OPM said T&T is a key centre of Proman’s operations, with 14 petrochemical plants owned and operated here and 1,100 employees, which is 67 per cent of its global headcount.
The OPM added, “During (yesterday’s) meeting, the energy company reiterated its commitment to Trinidad and Tobago, highlighting its planned investment of USD 1.1 billion over the next ten years for major plant maintenance turnarounds at Point Lisas. This investment will fund work on safety, reliability and greenhouse gas reduction initiatives. The company will also work with the Government to pursue other energy transition initiatives and opportunities.
“Discussions also focused on Proman upstream company - DeNovo - its operations and opportunities for expansion of its acquisitions.
“The meeting featured talks on Proman’s promotion of methanol as a maritime fuel and the reduction of shipping emissions. The meeting explored opportunities for Trinidad and Tobago as one of the largest global methanol producers, which also boasts a safe harbour, to position itself as a major shipping refuelling destination.”
The role of carbon capture in the new economic model for energy transition also formed part of the discussions, the OPM confirmed.
Today, Rowley and Young will visit Proman’s operations in Germany.
The OPM stated, “During the meeting two members of Proman’s executive leadership team, Trinidadians Ricardo Mohammed (Managing Director Group Operations) and Anita Gajadhar, (Managing Director Marketing, Logistics and Shipping) gave detailed presentations on the ways in which T&T fits into the company’s global thrust.”