Guardian ( Trinidad and Tobago )
11 February 2023 ( Page 8 )
Charles warns of geopolitical constraints with Dragon gas
By Gail Alexander
The “Dragon can dance” if Trinidad and Tobago overcomes the
significant geopolitical constraints involved in the project,
says Opposition MP Rodney Charles.
Charles commented on the matter as Energy Minister Stuart
Young was in Venezuela during the week for negotiations on
the Dragon Gas Field project. This country has been granted a
twoyear licence by the United States to develop the field.
“We all want Dragon Gas to succeed but before we celebrate
and count our chickens before they are hatched, we must carry
out the mandatory hard-nosed risk assessments,” he said.
“Everyone wants Trinidad and Tobago to successfully engage
Venezuela’s abundant energy resources but it must be
premised, not on wishful thinking or PNM’s 2025 electoral
considerations or limited research, but on realistic, hardnosed geopolitical and economic calculations.”
Charles said the Foreign Affairs Ministry must keep Cabinet
fully briefed on the broader geopolitical implications “before
we rush in where angels fear to tread and spend our limited
foreign exchange on a monumentally risky project.”
He also cited the following factors:
• US President Biden is constrained by powerful domestic
forces. Florida’s 30 votes in the US Electoral College are crucial
to his 2024 electoral prospects. With over 1.5 million Cubans
and an estimated 250,000 Venezuelans who are
uncompromisingly opposed to socialism, Biden can kiss his
chances goodbye of winning Florida if he ever fully engages
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.”
• The Republicans now control the US Congress. Maxine
Waters, reportedly a strong supporter of Dragon Gas, for
example, no longer chairs the US House Financial Services
Committee.
• The second area of geopolitical concern is Russian influence
on Maduro. Venezuela’s estimated US$100 billion debt to
Russia and China severely limits its ability and that of PDVSA
to freely engage in Dragon gas. Russia is also Venezuela’s most
important trading and military ally.
• T&T’s Foreign Ministry may be advised to have off-ramp
discussions with Russia which have little interest in the US
desire to increase supplies of non-Russian gas on the world
market.
• Government has to think longterm about increasing T&T’s
reliance on Venezuela.
Charles added: “It would be considerably wiser to hedge our
bets by significantly deepening energy relations with more
politically stable Suriname and Guyana with whom we share
many common interests.”
PICTURE NICOLE DRAYTON-
Naparima MP Rodney Charles /
PICTURE ABRAHAM DIAZ-Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Stuart Young/
PICTURE COURTESY
WIKIPEDIA-
US Congresswoman Maxine Waters