A parliamentary session in Trinidad and Tobago turned contentious on January 16th as Energy Minister Dr. Roodal Moonilal and opposition MP Stuart Young clashed over energy sector management and cultural funding controversies. The debate revealed significant tensions regarding the National Gas Company’s (NGC) financial performance and its subsequent decision to terminate longstanding cultural sponsorships.
Minister Moonilal disclosed that NGC reported substantial financial losses totaling $1.3 billion in 2023, following another deficit in the previous five-year period. This financial strain compelled the state-owned energy corporation to critically evaluate all non-essential expenditures, resulting in the discontinuation of cultural sponsorships that had consumed over $10.2 million in steelpan funding and $258,397 in tassa support over the past five years.
‘The company must prioritize its financial sustainability,’ Moonilal stated, emphasizing that ‘NGC will continue to review all future sponsorship commitments based on current revenue projections.’
Opposition MP Stuart Young challenged the minister’s assertions, countering that NGC had actually achieved a $1.6 billion profit after tax in the most recent fiscal year. Young questioned whether the sponsorship cancellations—which affected Couva Joylanders, La Brea Nightingales, Steel X Plosion of Tobago, Pan Trinbago, and Trinidad & Tobago Sweet Tassa Group—represented a broader governmental attack on cultural preservation efforts.
The debate expanded to include energy sector developments, with Moonilal confirming that Woodside Energy had not notified the ministry of any operational closures in Trinidad and Tobago. The minister revealed that Perenco had completed acquisition of Woodside’s Greater Angostura assets on July 8, 2025—a transaction involving fields that contribute approximately 12% of the nation’s total gas production through daily output of 300 million standard cubic feet of natural gas and 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent.
Young distinguished between corporate divestment and operational shutdowns, noting that Woodside maintained minimal presence in the country with just one employee unrelated to the asset transfer.
The confrontation further touched on arbitration proceedings concerning the Beetham Wastewater Plant, with Moonilal citing confidentiality restrictions that prevented disclosure of outcomes regarding the $1 billion facility that has never become operational.