$21 Billion in Oil Taxes from bpTT
Reported by: Trinidad Guardian 5/27/2009 9:31:59 PM

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The Government has received more than $21 billion in revenue from energy giant bpTT for the period January 2007 to March 2009. Energy Minister Conrad Enill has revealed the facts in a question for written response in the Senate yesterday. The answers were one week overdue. It was posed by Opposition Senator Wade Mark, who was absent from the Senate yesterday. Enill in giving a breakdown said $20.4 billion was paid as petroleum taxes and $1 billion was royalty payments. Enill said he was also not in a position to say what percentage of T&T’s total tax revenues for the 26-month period would have come from bpTT. He said those matters were dealt with by the Board of Inland Revenue. Enill also said last night that the State collected 55 per cent of the total revenue generated by bpTT in the period. According to the Guardian’s calculations, this would mean that bpTT would have been left with $17.5 billion in the period to pay its employees and other expenses as well as dividends and profits. The tax take from bpTT means that the company contributed about $823 million a month or $27.5 million a day during the period January 2007 to March 2009. In the period, world oil and natural gas prices have been on a roller-coaster ride with oil peaking at US$147.27 a barrel in July before plunging more than 78 per cent to US$32.40 a barrel on December 19. Natural gas, which now provides a majority of T&T’s energy tax revenues, plunged from a peak of more than US$13 per thousand cubic feet in the US last year to a little over $4 recently. A significant percentage of T&T’s natural gas is also exported to markets in Europe under contract. Commenting on Enill’s revelations last night, energy economist Gregory McGuire said: “The information from the Minister of Energy is useful and one would always encourage that kind of transparency. “But the really important question at this time is what is the expected tax take from bpTT in the current fiscal year because that will give us some idea of the impact of the decline in oil and natural gas prices on Government’s energy revenues.” A bpTT spokesman said last night that the energy company would be prepared to make a statement on the issue today. And in another question posed by Mark for written response, Enill said National Petroleum Marketing Co Ltd (NP)—for the period January 2007 to March 2009—sold gasoline on the domestic market to the value of $2,990 million.

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