T&T state firm bids to build gas processing plant in Guyana

Phoenix Park Gas Processors Limited (PPGPL), a state-owned company from Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) has submitted a proposal to set up a natural gas processing facility in Guyana. T&T’s Energy Minister, Dr Roodal Moonilal, described the bid as a significant step toward strengthening his country’s influence in the regional energy sector.

Dr Moonilal made the announcement while addressing the House of Representatives during discussions on the supplementary budget, where he outlined the United National Congress (UNC) Government’s energy plans. He noted that negotiations are progressing not only with Suriname but also with Guyana.
“Phoenix Gas is involved in a bid to assist with developing a gas processing plant in Guyana. We are hoping that that bid goes well. We are hoping that something can happen there. Because it is critical that the state enterprises in Trinidad and Tobago establish themselves as serious investment entities in Suriname, Guyana and later Grenada.”
“We also had discussions with the American Company Fulcrum that is involved in Guyana and their massive gas exploration and production venture with ExxonMobil. We have had discussions with them and will follow up with them,” Moonilal further said. According to the Energy Minister, this is how T&T aims to become an energy hub. With Guyana currently producing over 630,000 barrels of oil per day and expected to increase production to as much as 1.2 million barrels of oil per day in the next few years, Moonilal noted the impossibility of matching or outproducing Guyana’s oil production figures.
“It is not secret. Guyana produces more barrel of oil per day than they have people. We are in touch with the Guyana Energy Chamber. I have been asked to say publicly, that the Trinidad and Tobago Government has been in touch with the Guyana Energy Chamber in Georgetown, that has pledged to give their support to companies in Trinidad and Tobago to work,” he explained.
“One of the realities we discovered after entering office, a sad reality is that we have been in oil and gas for over 100 years. Our sister CARICOM countries have been in oil and gas for a decade or so, in terms of their own programmes and production. And you know, upon coming into office we discovered we had no footprint in those CARICOM countries.”
Energy footprint
Moonilal highlighted that despite Trinidad’s status as the oldest oil producer in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region, as well as its extensive technical expertise, the country did not have a satisfactory footprint in either Guyana or Suriname. Moonilal lamented that Trinidad had its chance to gain an early footprint in Guyana a few years ago under the former People’s National Movement (PNM) Government.
“It was the service contractors of Trinidad and Tobago, who of their own will and hard work, went to Suriname and Guyana. Off their own. And were able to get business in the energy sector. In some cases, against the odds. But they had no help from the Government. None,” the Minister said.
“We have discovered that even when there was a serious attempt by national energy to get involved in Guyana in providing operational, technical and production assistance to the Guyanese Government, through the international private sector, to assist with bringing gas onshore, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago at that time said no. It was too risky.”
Soon after her election, T&T Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar had made it clear that her Government would be seeking out potential gas development collaboration with Guyana. It had marked a pivot from the former PNM Government, which had struck the Dragon field gas deal with Venezuela, Guyana’s western neighbour with whom tension currently exists as Venezuela has made illegal claims to Guyana’s territory.
The Dragon gas field project, was to be developed in Venezuelan waters, undertaken by Trinidad’s state firm National Gas Company (NGC) and SHELL. A 30-year licence, issued in December 2023, had granted Shell and NGC the rights to produce the gas and export it to Trinidad.
However, in April it was announced that the United States (US) Government had notified the project by revoking the licences Trinidad and Tobago had been granted for the Dragon and Manakin-Cocuina cross-border gas fields.
The licences had previously been issued under the then President Joe Biden administration, by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Since his return to office, US President Donald Trump has taken a more hardened line to Venezuela.
This has come amid the loss of democratic rights for the Venezuelan people by the Nicolás Maduro regime and breaches to agreements Venezuela had made to ensure free and fair elections last year.
Meanwhile, with general and regional elections scheduled for September 1st, 2025 in Guyana, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has already indicated that no new contracts, including those involving Fulcrum LNG which is seeking to monetise Guyana’s gas, will be signed in the pre-election period.