Trinidad and Tobago proposes CARICOM energy ministers forum

Last Updated on Wednesday, 18 February 2026, 22:17 by Writer

The major energy producing member-states of the 15-member Caribbean Community ( CARICOM) should establish a caucus of natural resources and energy ministers to ensure the region’s three major oil and gas producers can benefit from huge amounts of hydrocarbons, Trinidad and Tobago’s energy minister Dr Roodal Moonilal said.

“I further propose that maybe the time has come that we institute some type of forum where our respective teams can meet more regularly to collaborate, to work together on investment policies, strategies, so we do not duplicate and indeed we are aware of what each other are doing in the Caribbean,” he told the opening of a panel discussion titled “Regional Energy Security” at the 2026 Guyana Energy Conference.

Dr Moonilal said he was “surprised” that such a ministerial forum did not exist previously.

Trinidad and Tobago was for almost 100 years the Caribbean’s lone big oil producer until Guyana’s entry with production now at almost 1 million barrels of crude per day.

With the granting of Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) licences to several companies, the way is being cleared for Trinidad and Tobago to begin large-scale gas production and processing.

Suriname, a small onshore heavy oil producer, is expected to produce 220,000 barrels of crude from the offshore Gran Morgu project by 2028.

There are also huge gas prospects in an area straddling Guyana and Suriname.

Suriname’s Minister of Oil, Gas and the Environment, Patrick Loys Brunings told Demerara Waves Online News that his country and Guyana could sign a memorandum of understanding in another month to cover several aspects of joint gas production.

Mr. Brunings told the panel discussion that Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname could play a bigger role in supporting the transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy for the greater region. He said gas would play an important role in fuelling electricity and transportation.

Guyana’s Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat endorsed his Trinidad and Tobago counterpart’s idea of a ministerial forum. He said such a mechanism would be “very critical and important” in working with that twin-island nation.

“I like the idea that Dr. Moonilal would have voted of having us meet on a regular basis as energy ministers not only Guyana Suriname and Trinidad but the wider CARICOM region that we meet on a regular basis to look at possible areas of collaboration, how we can support each other, how we can get projects done at scale working together. I think this is very critical and important in terms of working with Trinidad,” he said.