Kevin Ramnarine, former minister of energy and energy affairs of Trinidad & Tobago: “Trinidad and Tobago’s oil production and natural gas production have declined substantially in the last eight years. This has affected the country’s exports of LNG, ammonia and methanol, and by extension its real GDP and foreign exchange earnings. The recent onshore bid round is an attempt to stave off that decline, at least for oil. The onshore province of Trinidad has always been more oil prone. While authorities have made no formal announcement, there have been reports in the international media as to what the outcome of that bid round might be. It should be noted that successful companies will have to demonstrate the financial capacity to execute their work programs. There are other challenges facing drilling in Trinidad and Tobago, and these relate to the length of time to get permits related to the drilling and production of oil and gas. It could take companies as long as eight years to…”