'A defining moment': Trinidad and Tobago at a crossroads as oil runs out

Fossil fuels made the nation prosperous but as reserves dwindle, do they drill deeper, even as the Caribbean feels the heat of the climate crisis, or shift to a greener economy?In 1930, Trinidad and Tobago produced more than 40% of the British empire's oil. By the 1970s, the newly independent republic was producing 278,000 barrels of crude oil a day. For a country of just 1 million people, after the collapse of its sugar and cocoa industries, oil proved to be transformative.Today, with a population of 1.5 million and oil production down to less than 54,000 barrels a day, Trinidad and Tobago is at a crossroads. The country's only petroleum refinery closed in 2018 due to mismanagement and declining production by the state-owned Petrotrin company. A recent analysis noted that the energy revenues plummeted 48.4% to $14.7bn (?10.9bn) in the last fiscal year, while non-energy revenues grew by 26% to $32.7bn. Continue reading...