VZCZCXRO2680
RR RUEHDE
DE RUEHSP #0269/01 1702000
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 182000Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9231
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHHH/OPEC COLLECTIVE
RHEBAAA/DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC
RUMIAAA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 000269 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR, WHA/EPSC, EEB, S/CT 
DOE FOR A/S KOLEVAR, MWILLIAMSON, GWARD 
DHS FOR A/S STEPHAN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/17/2018 
TAGS: KCIP EPET ENRG PTER ASEC TD
SUBJECT: SECRETARY OF ENERGY AND PM MANNING DISCUSS 
INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION AND NATURAL GAS OUTLOOK 
 
Classified By: Acting DCM John Ries, reasons 1.4 (b,d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:  PM Manning welcomed Energy Secretary 
Bodman's visit and delivery of a USG report on protecting 
T&T's LNG export infrastructure.  Manning said he is anxious 
to do whatever is necessary to protect LNG infrastructure and 
willing to include that in the mission for T&T's new offshore 
patrol vessels.  At the same time he made clear that better 
protection of energy infrastructure could not come at the 
expense of drug interdiction.  In a one-one-one pull-aside 
with Secretary Bodman, Manning expressed frustration that 
Venezuela has not responded to his overtures on cross-border 
natural gas fields, and he signaled that he is considering 
relaxing GOTT financial and production sharing terms in order 
to stimulate upstream exploration and development.  END 
SUMMARY 
 
¶2. (SBU) Secretary of Energy Bodman met with Prime Minister 
Patrick Manning on Tuesday, May 13, at the PM's Residence/ 
Diplomatic Center.  Following a one-on-one pull-aside (para. 
10), the two were joined by the GOTT Ministers and Permanent 
Secretaries of Energy, National Security, and Foreign 
Affairs, the Ambassador, DOE foreign policy advisor Molly 
Williamson, Assistant Secretary of Energy Kevin Kolevar, 
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Bob Stephan, Ben 
Getto and Sam Browne of DOE, and ECON Chief (notetaker). 
 
------------------------------------------- 
Presenting Infrastructure Protection Report 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Manning opened the meeting by thanking Secretary 
Bodman for his role in launching liquefied natural gas (LNG) 
production in Trinidad when he was chairman of Cabot 
Corporation.  Secretary Bodman replied that it was in 
recognition of the role T&T now plays in U.S. energy security 
that the USG organized an in-depth vulnerability assessment 
of critical infrastructure protection related to Trinidad's 
production of LNG, and he presented PM Manning with a written 
report of the assessment team's findings. 
 
¶4. (C) A/S Stephan provided an overview of the land and 
maritime segments of the report, drawing a distinction 
between roles of facility operators and security authorities, 
and underscoring the need to improve GOTT capability to 
interdict terrorist attacks and coordination with the private 
sector.  Stephan praised the GOTT's spirit of cooperation and 
conveyed the USG's willingness to sustain that cooperation by 
sharing best practices and providing training under a 
formalized working group that could track implementation of 
USG recommendations. 
 
¶5. (C) A/S Kolevar discussed systems vulnerabilities 
identified in the report, highlighting the scope for single 
point failures to disrupt supply by virtue of the fact that 
LNG production takes place at a single location and that much 
of the gas transported along a single right-of-way via the 
cross-island pipeline.  PM Manning observed that T&T is 
overdue for a major earthquake, according to local 
seismologists.  A/S Kolevar responded that contingency 
planning for system resiliency was relevant to both surviving 
an attack and weathering a natural disaster.  The U.S. had 
learned lessons on this from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Minister of National Security Martin Joseph asked 
whether the U.S. envisages follow-up to the LNG assessment as 
a bilateral matter or would it include a role for the 
Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (OAS/CICTE). 
(NOTE:  Joseph chaired CICTE in 2005.)  A/S Kolevar responded 
that CICTE provided an excellent mechanism to begin the 
process, but it lacks an operational component.  Moreover, 
given the national security and business sensitivity of the 
assessment results, the U.S. would expect implementation to 
be handled in bilateral channels.  A/S Stephan concurred, 
adding however that CICTE might provide a venue to share 
lessons learned in the assessment process.  Joseph accepted 
the point and agreed that follow-up would proceed in 
bilateral channels. 
 
¶7. (C) Manning said he is anxious to take whatever steps are 
needed to protect critical infrastructure in T&T.  He also 
said that T&T would seek to discuss these issues with 
Venezuela, since the latter would likely be the first country 
on the scene in the event of an incident in T&T.  Citing 
 
PORT OF SP 00000269  002 OF 002 
 
 
examples in the 1970s and '80s in which Venezuelan naval 
vessels passed through T&T waters without permission in times 
of crisis, Manning said he would expect "some strange 
developments" if anything were to happen in T&T. 
 
¶8. (C) Manning also laid down a marker that the GOTT would 
not shift existing resources away from drug interdiction in 
order to protect energy infrastructure; rather it would seek 
to use its military assets for both purposes.  He stressed 
that counter-narcotics is the region's top priority, and 
neighboring countries are far more vulnerable than T&T. 
Successful counter-drug efforts in Columbia and Mexico had 
pushed the drug trade routes to the east.  Columbia and 
Mexico have agreed to share intelligence with T&T.  Noting 
that the GOTT is in the process of procuring new vessels and 
armed helicopters, Manning stated that infrastructure 
vulnerabilities would be taken into account as these new 
assets are deployed, and one or two vessels could be 
stationed in close proximity to the Atlantic LNG facility. 
 
¶9. (SBU) PM Manning said that T&T would host a regional 
commander's conference in mid-June to discuss what assets are 
available to support regional security and how to improve 
coordination.  He had discussed the concept for this meeting 
with Admiral Stavridis of SOUTHCOM in a recent telephone 
call, and over the previous few days he had also spoken to 
regional commanders from the UK and France. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
T&T Needs More Gas, and Venezuela isn't Helping 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶10. (C) In a one-on-one pull-aside with Secretary Bodman, PM 
Manning acknowledged that T&T desperately needs to expand and 
develop its proven gas reserves.  The cross-border gas fields 
T&T shares with Venezuela offer significant potential, but 
bilateral talks have been stalled since June 2007.  Manning's 
repeated overtures to Caracas have met with no response. 
Given these circumstances, Manning asked for U.S. 
understanding of T&T's need to maintain correct relations 
with Caracas and also with Havana.  Manning also indicated 
that the GOTT would have to loosen up the terms of its tax 
and production sharing regime in order to attract bids on 
offshore acreage in upcoming bid rounds. 
AUSTIN