The Report: Trinidad & Tobago 2020

Trinidad and Tobago is the largest producer of oil and gas in the Caribbean. While there is a need to diversify the economy away from its dependence on hydrocarbons, a number of new discoveries in late 2019 appear set to support a short-term recovery in the energy sector and lend financing to the wider economy.

The twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago is located in the southern end of the Caribbean, just off the coast of Venezuela. Its rich and varied heritage lends itself to a vibrant society and cuisine derived from an array of ethnicities and religions. 

On the back of elevated global oil prices, T&T has gone through a period of rapid economic expansion in recent decades, resulting in higher levels of development and overall well-being for the population. While diversification efforts have boosted long-term stability, the economy remains vulnerable to commodity boom and bust cycles. As such, the drop in commodity prices from 2014 to 2016 led to a deep recession in T&T.

Since then, the economy has gradually recovered thanks to a number of new energy projects and natural gas production. While global oil and gas prices have bounced back slightly from their 2016 lows – providing the government with more revenue to invest – they remain subdued compared to the highs of 2014, resulting in a more prolonged recovery than expected.