The Energy Chamber’s Energy Services Sector Survey (ESSS) is a quarterly survey of energy services contractors. 

Overall, a vibrant energy services subsector is integral to the overall health of the energy sector. 

The ESSS attempts to map the performance and optimism of our energy services sector members, providing data on their business confidence and on some of the phenomena which impact their operations and business prospects. 

In the Q3 2019, almost 63% of companies polled by the Energy Chamber indicated that the value of their business was down. 

Sixty-eight per cent of the respondents indicated that this was due to a decrease in demand for their services and 68% also indicated that it was due to fewer business opportunities. 

Sixty per cent of respondents also indicated that the volume of their business was down in the third quarter of 2019. 

Sixty-seven per cent of respondents indicated that this was due to a decrease in business opportunities. 

Employment 

Regarding employment, in the past three months, the majority of respondents indicated no change to the total number of employees (50%). In terms of full-time or temporary workforce, a similar situation was reported. For full-time staff, 66% reported no change and 52% of companies reported no change to temporary staff. 

It should be noted that 37% of respondents reported increasing expenditure in training and retraining over the last three months. 

Capital Expenditure 

Capital expenditure (CAPEX) authorisations over the next quarter, according to the survey, suggest that most respondents are seeking to reach and engage new clients (46%) while 36% indicated that they would be seeking to provide new services. 

The energy services sector is an important sector of the economy: firstly, it is the largest employer in the energy sector, accounting for over one-third of total energy sector jobs. Secondly, the sector includes a large number (around 300 - 400) of small- to medium-sized Trinidad and Tobago-owned and operated companies. This contrasts with the rest of the oil and gas sector, which is dominated either by multinational companies or state-owned companies. 

The energy services sector grows best when there is a constant stream of projects, such as drilling for oil and gas, and construction of new petrochemical plants. Whenever there is a hiatus in the pipeline of energy projects, the energy services sector either baselines or shrinks.