A top U.S. energy official says Washington wants to boost ties with Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean nation that is the No. 1 supplier of liquid natural gas to the United States.

U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman says it is “absolutely necessary” to protect the two countries’ oil and gas pipelines and drilling platforms.

Bodman also told business leaders in Trinidad’s capital Tuesday that the U.S. hopes to expand its energy partnership with Trinidad beyond natural gas. He did not say in which areas.

Trinidad is the Caribbean’s second-largest energy producer after Venezuela.