PM holds ‘productive’ talks with Nutrien amid shutdown

News Ryan Hamilton-Davis 3 Hrs Ago

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar greets Nutrien president/CEO Ken Seitz and Nurtrien executives Dean Perkins, Edmond Thompson and Nneka Mentore, alongside Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal, NGC chairman Gerald Ramdeen on November 21. -

PRIME MINISTER Kamla Persad-Bissessar met with the leadership of embattled nitrogen and ammonia producer Nutrien almost a month after it began a phased shutdown of its operations at the Point Lisas Estate on October 23.

Nutrien was a major foreign exchange earner for TT as a large portion of its ammonia, a key ingredient in fertiliser, is exported to North America.

The meeting was highlighted in a social media post on the UNC’s social media pages.

The post said the Prime Minister met with Nutrien president and CEO Ken Seitz, senior vice president of nitrogen operations Dean Perkins, vice president and managing director of Nutrien Trinidad Edmund Thompson and Nneka Mentore, manager of government and industry affairs.

The Prime Minister was joined by Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Dr Roodal Moonilal and NGC chairman Gerald Ramdeen.

“The discussions were productive,” the post said. “The Prime Minister reaffirmed the government's commitment to protecting jobs and ensuring continued investment in TT’s energy sector.”

The meeting came a day after Moonilal told the media that government is maintaining an “open-door policy” with Nutrien and other energy companies in TT, during a post-cabinet media briefing at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's.

He explained that the ministry has been in touch with the company over the last two weeks.

“We are quite prepared to discuss at an appropriate time, future investment and future projects involving Nutrien and others in the downstream sector,” he said.

Nutrien began a controlled, phased shutdown of its Trinidad operations on October 23, amid complaints of port access restrictions and unreliable natural gas supply.

The shutdown left almost 600 workers on the breadline.

Earlier this week, on November 17, chairman of the National Gas Company of TT Gerald Ramdeen said the shutdown resulted in other companies at the Point Lisas Industrial Estate improving their output.