Trinidad and Tobago-focussed gas producer, DeNovo Energy, has announced the completion of the local fabrication of the platform for its second offshore field development, Zandolie, located in the Gulf of Paria off Trinidad’s west coast. 

To mark the completion of the platform fabrication, DeNovo hosted the Minister of Energy, the Honourable Stuart Young, at the Point Lisas Industrial Estate. Minister Young toured the Zandolie construction site and met with the project team. 

According to a company release, the Zandolie construction is a clear statement of the company’s strategic intent to continuously build and utilise capability in country. Construction was completed at the United Engineering Services Limited (UESL) local fabrication yard with zero Loss Time Incidents (LTIs) in over one hundred man-hours of work. At peak, the project employed one hundred and nineteen people. 

In addition to fabricating the platform in country, the drilling campaign will be executed by a locally owned and operated rig, Well Services Rig 110. 

During his visit, Minister Young was provided with an update on the project, and he was able to view the Zandolie subsea structure, situated on PLIPDECO’s quayside, ahead of the sail away for offshore installation. 

The Zandolie platform will be a single well, conductor-supported platform with a nameplate capacity of 40 MMSCFD. It will be totally powered by renewable energy. Modifications to the existing Iguana field infrastructure were completed in November 2021, as Zandolie will be connected to the existing Iguana infrastructure. DeNovo aims to deliver first gas from the Zandolie development within the first half of 2022. 

Minister Young was joined on the tour of the construction facility by DeNovo’s Managing Director, Bryan Ramsumair; PLIPDECO’s President, Ernest Ashley Taylor; UESL Director, Anees Saqui; Zandolie Project Manager, Tom Blue; and Zandolie Project Services Manager, Joannah Nelson. 

Following the tour, Minister Young remarked: “This is a proud moment for DeNovo and for the country. The 100% local fabrication of the Zandolie platform is further proof of the capabilities within the energy service industry to construct high quality and complex structures, and to make the necessary adaptations to reduce carbon emissions. Zandolie demonstrates a continued optimism within the upstream to take practical steps to advance the sustainability agenda. I look forward to the successful delivery of natural gas from the project by the middle of this year and I commend DeNovo for its efforts to align the Zandolie platform design and fabrication with the Government’s low carbon and local content efforts.” 

Minister Young also expressed the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago’s willingness to work with the company. 

DeNovo’s Managing Director, Bryan Ramsumair, stated: “This critical milestone in DeNovo’s second field development, highlights the drive by the team to constantly improve and learn. We pushed ourselves to deliver a greener and more local platform. The result is that the Zandolie platform is a 100% local fabrication and will be 100% powered by renewable energy, which will significantly contribute to our continued efforts to minimise the carbon footprint of our operations.”