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In the aftermath of what must be one of the world’s shortest-ever strikes, Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley has outlined the government’s intentions to introduce external capital investment into upstream oil production at stateowned Petrotrin. The strike, which was cancelled just hours after it begun, was called by the oil workers’ union to demand the settlement of wages for two three-year collective bargaining periods.
The future of Trinidad and Tobago’s gas industry relies on the ability to attract significant new investment into upstream gas production. Rystad Energy, a consultancy firm, has recently concluded a study of the competitiveness of the Trinidad and Tobago gas economy, commissioned by the Energy Chamber. The study, summarised in an article on Page 8 of EnergyNow, clearly highlights the serious challenges faced by the Trinidad and Tobago gas economy.
Construction of the much-anticipated Juniper platform has been completed and the topside has been loaded out from the Trinidad Offshore Fabricators (TOFCO) facility in La Brea, for installation in its permanent location off Trinidad’s southeast coast. The jacket for the platform, which was originally supposed to be constructed in La Brea but was moved to a yard in the United States (US) after early project delays, has also been transported back to Trinidad ready for installation.
Exxon announced today positive results from its Payara-1 well offshore Guyana. Payara is ExxonMobil’s second oil discovery on the Stabroek Block and was drilled in a new reservoir. The Payara-1 well targeted similar aged reservoirs that were proven successful at the company’s Liza discovery.
Over the past few days there has been a lot of commentary in the press, on social media and amongst the public on the current wage rates at Petrotrin. Given this discussion the Energy Chamber of Trinidad & Tobago thinks that it is important to provide factual information about the current wage rates at Petrotrin compared to the general rates prevalent in the energy sector.
The initiation of strike action today by the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union(OWTU) against the Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago (Petrotrin) is an ill-advised and potentially costly decision that is likely to cause more hardship to Petrotrin and further weaken the country’s economy.
Local content has been a key issue for the Energy Chamber ever since I joined the organisation thirteen years ago. Unfortunately, it seems be an issue a bit like the elusive “diversification”; something we spend a lot of time talking about but making very little progress towards achieving.
State-owned Petrotrin is a key player in the economy of Trinidad and Tobago, and what happens with the company is everybody’s business.
Juniper will become BP Trinidad and Tobago’s 14th offshore production facility, but it is the company’s first subsea field development in the twin island republic. The development will include five subsea wells and promises a production capacity of approximately 590 million standard cubic feet a day (MMSCFD). Gas from Juniper will flow to the Mahogany B hub, via a new ten-kilometre flowline.
Exxon, and its partners Hess and Nexen , have formally written to the government of Guyana declaring that the Liza field is commercial and that they will be fast-tracking development. According to local news sources, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman noted that it was the first time in Guyana’s 50-year history that Section 31 of the Petroleum Act had been “activated”. Minister Trotman is reported as saying, “This is a profound and watershed moment in the development of our country.”
Recently, we had a chance to sit down and have a frank discussion with Spencer Dale, Chief Economist, BP when he visited Trinidad and Tobago to launch the BP Statistical Review 2016.
Natural gas production from the Dragon natural gas field, located offshore the northeast coast of Venezuela, will soon reach the shores of the nearby twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago.
Tax increases have the Trinidad and Tobago private sector very concerned. In addition to the increased rate of corporation tax, both domestic and international private sector investors are concerned about the re-emergence of property tax, announced by the Minister of Finance for the 2016-17 national budget.
Sapurakencana joins several drilling companies that have opted to mothball their vessels off the coast of Trinidad. They are all sitting idly by, waiting for the global energy industry to recover. Cold stacking involves the partial decommissioning of the vessel when it appears that it will not be in use for an extended period of time. Sometimes called mothballing, the main features of the ship are reduced, in order to significantly lessen costs due to the asset being idle.
Construction of the long-delayed Caribbean Gas Chemicals Limited (CGCL) petrochemical facility is underway at the Union Industrial Estate in La Brea, Trinidad. Construction of temporary site facilities for the CGCL plant, which will produce 1,000,000 metric tonnes per year (MTPY) of methanol and 20,000 MTPY of Dimethyl Ether (DME), began in March 2016, but activity on-site only started to ramp up after the final outstanding agreements were ratified and signed by all the stakeholders involved, on August 8th 2016. CGCL is owned by the Mitsubishi Consortium of Japan, the Massy Group and the state-owned National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC). The project is being financed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
First gas from the Iguana gas field in the Gulf of Paria is scheduled for the first quarter (Q1) of 2018, according to the Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) application submitted by DeNovo, the operator of Blocks 1(a) and 1(b) off Trinidad’s west coast. Iguana is one of three gas discoveries in the shallow water blocks, which DeNovo purchased from Centrica in April 2016. The CEC application covers the Iguana, Zandolie and Anole fields, and exploration drilling on a fourth prospect named Whiptail.
Interview with Mark Loquan, President, NGC
Over 90% of service companies reported that they were affected by late payments according to a survey of contractors and service companies conducted by the Energy Chamber. In addition, 93% of respondents also said that the impact on their companies was significant and over half of the surveyed companies said that over 50% of their accounts receivables were 60 days overdue.
It is clear that the population of Guyana is now beginning to get more excited about the potential of the oil industry to positively change the country and confidence in the eventual development of the industry has been steadily growing over the past year.
A heated argument is brewing between geologist Herbert (“Billy”) Sukhu and Valerie Stoute, professor of environmental and postgraduate studies and research at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) over which one has the best approach to monetising the estimated 1.45 billion barrels of 37.5° API oil locked up in tar sands in south Trinidad.
