Energy Chamber Welcomes and Supports Government’s Push to Accelerate Energy Project Approvals

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release

December 30th 2025 

Energy Chamber Welcomes and Supports Government’s Push to Accelerate Energy Project Approvals

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The Energy Chamber of Trinidad & Tobago warmly welcomes the announcement by The Honourable Dr. Roodal Moonilal, Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, of plans to significantly improve the time taken to approve energy sector projects and the creation of a hub to fast-track decisions in the energy sector.  We fully support the Minister of Energy's focus on removing red-tape in the energy sector.  Accelerating the pace of approvals is the first item in the Energy Chamber’s Six-Point Plan to increase gas supply and maximise energy exports (the Six Point Plan can be viewed here)

A study commissioned by the Energy Chamber and delivered at the T&T Energy Conference in 2020 found that there were thirty-three (33) major approvals needed for each upstream gas project, across eight (8) different agencies and Ministries.   Sixteen (16) of the major decisions needed are outside of the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries direct control.  The study showed that on average it took twelve (12) years from the decision to hold a bid round to first gas for a typical shallow water gas field in T&T.   The study calculated that if this cycle time could be shortened by just one year, there would be an estimated US$120 million increase in the Net Present Value (NPV) of a typical Trinidad & Tobago shallow water gas field.  This could significantly improve the chances for a final investment decision being taken for a gas development.

The Energy Chamber‘s study created for the first time a detailed process map of all of the steps needed in an approval process.  At the 2024 Energy Conference, the Energy Chamber created a taskforce of young industry volunteer leaders who took on the task of working closely with Ministry of Energy staff to understand and find improvements in workflows to increase the pace of decision making.  At the 2025 Energy Conference, the Ministry of Energy and the Taskforce reported on how they had successfully worked together to improve the processes to launch the 2025 deepwater bid round.

The Energy Chamber is keen to continue to work closely with the Ministry and other key agencies to find ways to speed up decision making, while continuing to ensure the independence of the regulators and robust decisions.  Digitisation has a crucial role to play in the approvals process, but there also need to be improvements in workflows for the full benefits to be realised. This requires close stakeholder engagement.   The Energy Chamber looks forward to engaging with the Ministry of Energy as we seek to accelerate the approvals processes and bring more oil and gas to market at a faster pace.

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For any queries or further information, please contact anisa@energy.tt