Trinidad and Tobago's NGC signs gas supply deal

July 9, 2012
Trinidad and Tobago’s National Gas Co. Ltd. (NGC) reached an agreement with Methanol Holdings Trinidad Ltd. (MHTL) for the supply of 100 MMcfd of natural gas to MHTL’s proposed $2 billion ammonia-urea-melamine complex.

Trinidad and Tobago’s National Gas Co. Ltd. (NGC) reached an agreement with Methanol Holdings Trinidad Ltd. (MHTL) for the supply of 100 MMcfd of natural gas to MHTL’s proposed $2 billion ammonia-urea-melamine complex.

MHTL Chief Executive Officer Rampersad Mootilal said the 20-year gas contract was signed after close to a year of negotiations because his company had to evaluate what effect the rise of cheap shale gas in the US would have on the economics of the project.

Mootilal said, “Ordinarily it would not take us this long but we have to be mindful of the changing global environment and in this context we had to be more cautious than before.”

He said he expected that site preparation work will begin later this year and construction to start in early 2013.

The project will involve the construction of ammonia, urea, ammonia sulfate plant as well as a number of intermediate plants.

MHTL is the largest exporter of methanol to the US exporting 2.8 of its 4 million tonnes/year of methanol to the US and is the largest exporter of urea ammonium nitrates to the US corn belt.