State of the Extractive Sectors Report 2023
Chair, TTEITI Steering Committee
A graduate of the University of the West Indies, Mr McGuire holds bachelor's and master's degrees in economics. He has also had extensive post-graduate management training at the Balanced Scorecard Collaborative, Harvard Business School, MW Kellogg School of Management, Oxford College of Petroleum Studies, and the London Strategic Planning Society. Mr. McGuire has had a distinguished career in Business spanning thirty years. He spent 23 years at the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited,( NGC) where he had managerial responsibility mainly for the Strategic Planning and Marketing process.
The State of the Extractive Sectors Report 2023 gives a snapshot of the major developments in the oil, gas and mining sector. The report provides the latest information on revenue Government earned from the sector in 2023 and reconciles company payments and Government receipts for fiscal 2021. The report also provides recommendations on how T&T can improve its revenue collection, data management and audit and assurance systems.
Key Takeaways
- Despite year-on-year decline, Government continues to earn decade high revenue from the oil and gas sector in 2023 amidst global geopolitical tensions
- Trinidad and Tobago the first country to publish GHG emissions data in the EITI with NGC and Touchstone pioneering environmental disclosures
- Between 2016-2022, there were 1,121 oil spills in Trinidad and Tobago. During this period 73% of all spills occurred on land
- Trinidad & Tobago now systematically discloses 47% of information required by the EITI Standard, ensuring citizens have more access to energy and mining sector data at source
Click to read the report
Welcome to Trinidad and Tobago’s ninth annual Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Report. The country has been implementing the EITI for over a decade and transparency and accountable management of our oil, gas and mining sectors is a continuous imperative. The Trinidad and Tobago Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Steering Committee’s (SC) vision is for the country’s extractive resources to be effectively managed to benefit all citizens and preserve the environment. Our mission is to promote greater transparency and more effective management of extractive sector resources by empowering citizens with relevant information. With oil and gas prices currently on an upward trajectory, transparency is even more important especially as it relates to the country’s post Covid-19 pandemic recovery. Revenue from the extractive sector will also finance the country’s short, medium and long term plans for diversification, digital transformation, citizen security and crime prevention. The EITI’s role in providing assurance on energy sector revenue is therefore crucial.
A critical element of the SC’s work focuses on independently verifying the amount the country earns from our oil, gas and mining resources and identifying the reasons for any discrepancies as well as providing recommendations on how the country can improve its revenue collection and audit and assurance systems. The SC will continue this independent verification and health check on systems, but also look at innovating within the EITI framework.
Our 2024-26 work plan addresses the new EITI Standard requirements aimed at assessing the energy transition, anti-corruption and improved revenue collection. The SC will also continue to target an increase in mining sector participation in TTEITI and advocate for legal barriers to be addressed, whether including an EITI clause in licences and contracts or the passing of TTEITI legislation. As it relates to innovation, the SC, in this report and beyond, will disclose gender data and continue to focus on environmental reporting. I am pleased to announce that both the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago and Touchstone Energy Limited will disclose key data on their emissions and energy use in this report.
One of the world’s pressing concerns is how the energy transition and climate change will shift Government policies, company strategy and citizens’ lives over the short to medium term. For Trinidad and Tobago, these concerns are a point of significant interest. As a net energy exporter and small island state, the country already faces the brunt of climate change impact and any major tremors in the global energy transition policy space will impact our revenue and market share for LNG and petrochemicals. Gathering as much data to help clarify how citizens, companies and Government respond to these developments is pivotal. And both the NGC and Touchstone have demonstrated leadership in data disclosure. Continuous innovation helps the SC and country build on its EITI legacy.
In June 2023, after being assessed to gauge how well the country implements the EITI Standard, Trinidad and Tobago attained a score of 89 out of 100 for meeting the Standard requirements. That tally was the highest score in Latin America and the Caribbean and fourth highest globally. We will have to live up to this score and keep progressing. In Trinidad and Tobago, the EITI continues to provide a collaborative mechanism and platform for developing and consolidating transparency and accountability in the nation's oil and gas sectors, the cornerstone of the national economy. The disclosures in this report is the start of a conversation on how we manage our resource wealth.
On behalf of the TTEITI Steering Committee and Secretariat, I wish to acknowledge with thanks the roles played by the stakeholders - Government, extractive companies and civil society - in guiding and supporting EITI implementation over the last year and in producing this report. In particular, I recognise the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries and the Ministry of Finance’s Board of Inland Revenue and Investment Division for their contributions. Also, I recognise the EITI Independent Administrator, PKF Limited, supported by Engaged Consulting and Michael Barron Consulting, for their professionalism in carrying out the analysis for this report. Finally, I want to thank the TTEITI Steering Committee and the Secretariat for their daily contributions to EITI implementation. I am optimistic that the information provided in this report will advance dialogue and debate on the country’s extractive sector.
Click below to read the rest of the State of the Extractive Sectors Report 2023
For a more complete understanding of the industry, download the full country report.
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