Trinidad and Tobago—Local Content Study

DAI’s Sustainable Business Group (SBG) was contracted by the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago to conduct a quantitative study to measure the value addition of the country’s energy sector beyond tax revenues and royalties paid to the government. The approach broadened the definition of value addition to include local content value, the value from the sector’s employment of nationals and procurement of local goods and services, allowing decision-makers to make evidence-based choices for future investments.

The SBG team collected data from operators in the natural gas and petrochemical industries, as well as from energy sector suppliers in Trinidad across 38 supply chain categories. This data was used in SBG’s proprietary economic models to quantify the 2016 economic value of local employment, foreign employment, and local procurement of goods and services. SBG forecasted energy sector demand for employment and procurement over a 10-year period and highlighted gaps between what the local supply base could provide and what, given the current market, could be provided locally. In the final report, opportunities for the growth of local content were identified in a variety of services and goods categories. SBG provided recommendations for closing the gap between the current value of local content and the potential value that could be contributed.

The study findings were presented at the Energy Chamber’s annual conference in January 2018.