TRINIDAD and Tobago will virtually meet its Venezuelan counterparts later this week to discuss the oil spill affecting the South American nation's coastline and ecosystem, says Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs Dr Roodal Moonilal.

In a WhatsApp message to the Express yesterday, he reported the two governments were maintaining contact through the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs under the guidance of Prime Minister Kamla Persad- Bissessar.

Moonilal was asked to respond to comments from Venezuela's foreign minister, Yvan Gil, who called for T&T to provide compensation related to an oil spill that occurred on May 1 this year. On Monday, Gil held a news conference in which he also requested that the T&T Government provide information on the spill, which he claimed originated from Trinidad and impacted Venezuelan coastlines, ecosystems, and fishing communities. The Venezuelan minister claimed that the lack of information from the T&T Government was extremely serious, and also stated that there was no information on the exact origin, volume, or type of hydrocarbon involved.