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The Energy Chamber wishes to publicly recognise and applaud the outstanding achievement of 24 contracting companies that have demonstrated a commitment to high health, safety and environment (HSE) standards in their organisations. The companies are being commended for having attained over 95 per cent compliance in each element of the Safe to Work (STOW) HSE requirements at the end of the rigorous STOW certification audit.
The much anticipated Juniper gas development project is back on schedule after a series of delays early in project execution. With a production capacity of approximately 590 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, the Juniper project should bring much needed relief to the gas-starved liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petrochemical sectors in 2017. The project, located off the south-east coast of Trinidad, is bpTT’s first subsea field development in the country.
After months of delay, the Trinidad Onshore Compression (TROC) project has finally received a green light from all of the Atlantic shareholders and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. This long anticipated project promises to bring on-stream an additional 200 million standard cubic feet of gas per day by early 2017.
Ministry of Energy data for the first quarter of 2016 has revealed a significant drop in crude oil production from the smaller onshore oil companies in Trinidad, mainly operating under lease-out, farm-out or incremental production sharing contracts (LO/FO/IPSC) with the state-owned oil company Petrotrin. Activity in this sector has significantly decreased, with serious knock-on negative implications for service companies, general economic activity and employment across south Trinidad.
In May 2016, I had the pleasure of being one of the business sector delegates who joined the Prime Minister on his official state visit to Ghana. It was my fifth visit to the country, though my first as part of an official Government delegation.
In March 2016, ProCom completed its acquisition of the assets of FT Farfan’s rigging business unit. The acquisition of the assets serves to bolster ProCom’s position in the local market. ProCom’s CEO, Mark Laughlin, said that the acquisition was a strategic move to acquire market share by removing a major competitor and adding 30% market share to ProCom. The acquisition became effective on March 31st 2016.
With Exxon in the midst of their highly anticipated appraisal drilling campaign offshore Guyana, the government has been taking its time to increase its understanding of the oil and gas industry and where it needs to be heading, according to Raphael Trotman, the Minister of Natural Resources.
Trinidad and Tobago, the only non-associated gas producer and exporter in the Caribbean, will be playing a major role in the Caribbean Energy Security Conference, which Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley is due to attend in Washington D.C. on May 3 and 4.
No producer is making money at a US$37-US$40 oil price, insisted Scotiabank’s Mark A Ammerman in a recent presentation to the Trinidad Energy and Finance Forum.
Though some experts have their own ideas on when the world oil price, currently hovering between US$37-US$40 a barrel, will rise again, one of the foremost among them, Dr. Lester Henry, has adopted a posture of caution.
The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has followed through on its commitment to begin to address the transport fuel subsidy when it increased the price of super gasoline and diesel by a further 15% in its mid-year budget review. This came on top of a previous increase of 15% in September 2015 and a decision not to reduce the prices when VAT was reduced from 15% to 12.5% (effectively increasing the price of fuel pre-VAT).
At the Trinidad and Tobago Energy Conference in January 2016, Touchstone CEO, Paul Baay called for government to take a look at the tax structure for the oil sector. He provided the netback figures for Touchstone and illustrated that the company earns less money with an oil price of $50-$60 per barrel than they do at $49.99 or $60.01. He calls this a disincentive for companies to move back into the field as prices begin to increase during this “recovery zone”.
La Brea-based, local energy service company, Perfection Services Ltd (PSL), has recently been accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) as an inspection body, and has acquired the ISO 17020 Certification for Inspection.
Apply sanctions to those oil and gas-producing companies in Trinidad and Tobago who vent carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere, rather than sequestering it underground – that's the firm advice of the country's leading geologist, Dr. Krishna Persad.
Earlier this year, the news came that Exxon Mobil had found oil offshore Guyana. It appears to be a major find. The news created a sense of euphoria among Guyanese. This discovery came during the tenure of the previous government and immediately, the then President Donald Ramotar arranged for a series of seminars to prepare the nation for the impact of an oil economy.
The likelihood of Trinidad and Tobago ever supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Jamaica, as was mooted at one time, seems more and more remote and probably won't happen at all.
Is the “viability” of the all-important gas sector in Trinidad and Tobago being “threatened”?
Yes, says Poten and Partners, the UK consultants hired to prepare the Natural Gas Master Plan by the previous People's Partnership (PP) administration.
Speech delivered by The Hon. Nicole Olivierre, Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Republic of Trinidad & Tobago. January 18th, 2016
Trinidad & Tobago’s upstream capital investment levels have been sustained through 2015, despite the slashing of capital investment budgets across the globe. Speaking in Parliament in December 2015, Nicole Olivierre, Trinidad & Tobago’s newly installed Minister of Energy, revealed that investment levels in 2016 were predicted to be in the US$3.0 billion range in 2016, a similar level of 2015.
Speaking at the annual Trinidad & Tobago Energy Conference, Giselle Thompson, Vice President Corporate Operations, BP Trinidad and Tobago outlined details of the company’s impressive investment plans over the next few years.
