PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC -Former energy minister Stuart Young, Monday, said reports that the Canada-based Nutrien plans to sell off overseas assets and redirect capital toward potash “will be a disaster” for Trinidad and Tobago.
Young, who served as minister of energy and energy-related industries in the last two People’s National Movement (PNM) administrations, said that in 2024, Nutrien spent US$130 million on its Trinidad and Tobago plants.
“This significant investment was based on the confidence that Nutrien had in Trinidad and Tobago and our energy sector’s management and outlook. The gas sector was carefully managed, relationships were mutually respectful, and Trinidad and Tobago’s interests were being looked after. It is a delicate balancing exercise, understanding that we are competing globally against other countries that also have natural gas supplies,” Young wrote on his Facebook page.
His statements follow local and international media reports that Nutrien, which has since shut down its ammonia and urea operations, is retreating from nitrogen production and is seeking to sell off overseas assets and redirect capital toward potash.
Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal says talks with the multinational are ongoing and that he has taken note that Nutrien “is now in the process of diversifying its production base.
“They have made decisions in relation to a global market and so on, and we wish them all the best. We are still in touch with the Nutrien people concerning Trinidad and Tobago; they have still expressed a commitment to work with us.”
The Canada-based publication, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, reported that in October, Nutrien “commenced a controlled shutdown” of its Trinidad operations, which produced ammonia and urea used in nitrogen fertiliser.
The company said the decision came “in response to port access restrictions imposed by Trinidad and Tobago’s National Energy Corporation, along with a lack of reliable and economic natural gas supply that affected financial performance.
Devan Mescall, Edwards Enhancement Chair in Business at the University of Saskatchewan, said the challenges in Trinidad went beyond economics.
“I think that there were political challenges in the Trinidad and Tobago operation, where a new government there was trying to squeeze Nutrien and restrict its access to ports and force it into an unfavourable renegotiation of their agreements,” Mescall said, adding, “I think Nutrien realized that was not in their best interest and so ceased those operations.”
Since the Trinidad shutdown, Nutrien has accelerated divestment of non-core assets. Over the past year, the company has generated close to US$900 million through asset sales.
In December, Nutrien sold its 50 per cent stake in Argentina-based nitrogen fertiliser producer Profertil S.A. for US$600 million to Adecoagro S.A. and the Asociacion de Cooperativas Argentinas. Earlier this year, it finalised the sale of its ownership stake in Sinofert Holdings Ltd., a Chinese producer of nitrogen, phosphate, and other fertilisers, for US$223 million.
In a statement following the Profertil sale, Nutrien president and chief executive Ken Seitz said the divestment was part of a move to simplify the company’s portfolio and boost earnings. In its first-quarter results, Nutrien said the proceeds would be directed toward “priorities that are core to our long-term strategy.
Young wrote that since coming to office in April, the Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration has destroyed confidence in Trinidad and Tobago’s energy sector.
“If Nutrien’s unprecedented shutdown of its plants (which they spent over one billion TT dollars on in 2024) turns into a withdrawal from Trinidad and Tobago, it will be a disaster for us. Loss of thousands of jobs, loss of Forex, downgrade, continued deterioration, and destruction of our delicate energy sector,” Young said.
He said, additionally, the state-owned National Gas Company (NGC) gas sale contracts to the petrochemical companies at Point Lisas have been expiring, and the government “has failed to negotiate any long-term commercial gas sale contracts.
“Companies will only invest if there is certainty of future gas supply and a level of confidence in the management of our energy sector, both of which are now gone,” Young said, adding that since coming to power, the new administration has “removed all of those individuals with the experience and competence to assist in managing our energy sector.
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