Economic Hurricane Coming – Moonilal

By Sue-Ann Wayow

CITIZENS should brace for more hardships in the next coming months due to the layoff of Atlantic LNG staff.

This is according to Member of Parliament for Oropouche East Dr Roodal Moonilal.

He said, “An economic hurricane is coming to Trinidad and Tobago, a category five hurricane.”

Dr Moonilal referred to an Express article which reported that Atlantic has confirmed that it was laying off staff and has already offered all employees voluntary separation of employment packages (VSEP) to go home over the next two months

He said, “More people to be laid off at Atlantic LNG. The gas price has collapsed. They (government) budgeted around $6 around there, it is now $2 somewhere around there . So the economy is going to be crashing in a few days when we have a second quarter report or so as to what money we have been making from gas.”

One of the biggest mistakes made by the present administration was the closing down of the Petrotrin and its refinery at Pointe-a-Pierre, he said.

“When we told them they ought not to close the refinery, they did not hear us,” Dr Moonilal said.

The Express article did not yet reveal exactly how many Atlantic workers were being asked to leave.

Atlantic, one of the world’s largest producers of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), is owned by the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC Trinidad and Tobago), Shell, BP, and the Chinese Investment Corporation (CIC).