T&T has a well-established carbon reduction target of 15% by 2030 across multiple sectors including power generation, industry and transport. The energy sector has been taking leadership in these areas with the two largest natural gas producers, bp and Shell committing to developing two gridscale renewable energy projects (with delivery projected for 2022— subject to negotiations).
However, when it comes to incorporating renewables into upstream operations, DeNovo Energy and Trinity Exploration recently announced their intention to introduce low carbon technologies into their facilities.
DeNovo has indicated that their Iguana platform is already outfitted with solar panels to generate electricity on the platform. Bryan Ramsumair, Managing Director of DeNovo Energy, said that the company moved away from a traditional diesel generation system and installed a thermoelectric generator on the platform to use natural sunlight and natural gas from the well, to power the generation system.
He went on to add that this significantly reduces the overall carbon footprint on their production and has also reduced operating cost both in terms of fuel costs and marine transport to take fuel to the platform. He also stated that by reducing offshore activity their operations have been made safer.
Ramsumair indicated that they will do even better on their newest offshore development, Zandolie.
He said that Zandolie will be a zero emissions platform, fully powered by wind and solar energy.
Ramsumair made these announcements at the T&T Energy Conference, when he also indicated that Zandolie will be a $32 million investment, with first gas expected in Q1 2022.
The engineering of the platform will be done by Aquaterra Energy, but Ramsumair said that construction will be local.
Aquaterra recently indicated that the platform will be self-powered by a wind turbine and a solar bank. By using a dual energy resource, the design reduces intermittency risk and will include a battery to store excess power. The innovative solution eliminates the need for traditional diesel generators for power, significantly reducing emissions, including those associated with the maintenance and logistics for refuelling visits to the platform.
In addition, the platform will also be equipped with intelligent monitoring technology, which reduces maintenance trips by only requiring personnel to visit when alerted via onshore systems.
The company also indicated that the platform was engineered to withstand seismic activity, the minimum facilities platform will be designed for drilling and installation via a jack-up rig to reduce project costs—removing the need to mobilise a heavy lift vessel. The Sea Swift platform’s reduced steel requirement and focus on using available in-region infrastructure offers a low-emission, low-risk and low-cost route to reduce time to first oil or gas production.
Stewart Maxwell, Technical Director at Aquaterra Energy, said, “Intelligent engineering is at the heart of what we do, so this renewablepowered solution is a testament to our ethos.
We are committed to delivering solutions that support our client’s decarbonisation efforts across all aspects of our work—whether that’s reducing interfaces, indirect emissions or enabling more in-country fabrication. All of these actions add up and that’s why we’re focused on more efficient operations across every aspect of the value chain.”
Bryan Ramsumair, Managing Director at DeNovo, adds, “DeNovo is committed to securing Trinidad and Tobago’s energy future— in a cleaner way. The Zandolie platform will be 100% powered by renewable energy. This is proof of our commitment to develop hydrocarbon resources in a way that minimises the carbon footprint of our operations.
“We have built off our existing infrastructure for our Iguana field, which has enabled a smaller platform for our second field development. We are confident that this will enable the Zandolie platform to be fabricated in Trinidad and Tobago—maximising the use of local expertise and further emphasising DeNovo’s local content commitment.”
Speaking at the Trinidad and Tobago Energy Conference, Jeremy Bridgelalsingh, Managing Director of Trinity Exploration and Production, spoke about their ambitions to reduce the carbon intensity of their production.
Trinity Exploration, is looking at commencing a data collection study with the University of the West Indies to ascertain the technical feasibility of developing a largely renewable energy based power plant at Galeota to produce green electrons for offshore usage. Bridgelalsingh said this will be done to drive down the carbon intensity of the oil being produced. He said this is trying to blend both renewables and the modern oilfield.
Bridgelalsingh alluded to the wind resource on the east coast as an opportunity for development.