Trinidad and Tobago’s newly appointed Energy Minister, Roodal Moonilal, on Wednesday said the government will launch a national symposium aimed at streamlining the country’s energy project approval process, in one of the first policy initiatives of the new administration in the sector.
Speaking at the Mature Basins Energy Symposium hosted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Moonilal said the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries intends to reduce bureaucratic delays that have long hampered upstream oil and gas development.
“A study conducted by the Energy Chamber revealed that the approval process for new upstream projects required 33 major approvals from eight ministries or agencies. Government approvals are required for almost every activity at every stage, from seismic acquisition to exploration drilling to the operationalization of field development plans,” Moonilal told industry representatives.
The symposium, expected to involve all relevant ministries and agencies, will seek feedback from industry stakeholders and generate recommendations to “de-bottleneck” approvals and accelerate project development across the energy value chain, he said.
Moonilal was appointed Energy Minister in May following the victory of his party in Trinidad and Tobago’s general elections. His address on Wednesday marked his first address to the oil and gas sector.
Trinidad and Tobago’s oil and gas production has been in long-term decline, with natural gas output averaging about 2.5 billion cubic feet per day in 2024. The country’s basins are mature, and the government is trying to attract new investment and boost production, particularly in the gas segment.
Moonilal said the administration remains committed to making Trinidad and Tobago the “energy hub of the Caribbean” and to improving the ease of doing business in the sector.
