The 2019 shallow water bid round was the first offer of new acreage for oil and gas exploration in Trinidad & Tobago since the downturn in global oil prices in late 2014. The bid round, that closed earlier today, saw bp and Shell, the two major existing gas producers in Trinidad & Tobago jointly bidding on three of the six blocks on offer. The joint bp and Shell bids were received for the three east coast blocks on offer, with no other bids being received for the blocks. No bids were received for the two blocks off Trinidad’s north coast and for the one block on offer in the Gulf of Paria.
In an interview with Proactive Investors UK earlier this year, Chairman of Columbus Energy Resources plc (Columbus), Leo Koot, said that this was the year for which they have been waiting.
BHP has announced that it has found hydrocarbons in its latest deepwater well in Trinidad & Tobago’s deepwater block 23(a). The Bélé-1 well is the first of a three well programme to test prospects around the Bongos discovery, made in 2018. The well is being drilled by the Deepwater Invictus rig and was spud on 2 March 2019 in 2,102 meters water depth. The total planned well depth is 3,693 meters. The 31st March BHP operational review noted that drilling was still in progress.
BP Trinidad and Tobago (BPTT) today announced first gas production from its Angelin development. The project was delivered on time and under budget.
Oil players in Trinidad & Tobago are urging changes to the government’s supplemental petroleum tax on oil production, which they say in its current form discourages investment and inhibits oil exploration.
If Guyana is to experience sustained growth leading to the development of a worldclass energy industry that benefits the local economy, it is critical that a robust safety culture is embraced now. Imperative would be the adoption of safety systems and procedures that international operators consider basic to a safe and productive operation. Adherence to such systems would also give locally owned and operated contractors greater access to work in the sector, which will enhance local content development.
The energy sector has predominantly had more males than females in senior roles. This is a global phenomenon and is not unique to Trinidad and Tobago. The International Energy Association (IEA) stated in an article in 2018 that the energy sector remains one of the least gender-diverse sectors, despite recent efforts to promote and encourage women’s participation. The IEA article alludes to inclusion of all human resources for key drivers of innovative and inclusive solutions.
The value and volume of business for energy services companies remain below normal. Fifty-nine per cent of energy services companies polled indicated that the value of their business was down in the third quarter of 2018.
DeNovo moved from start-up, new upstream operator to Trinidad and Tobago’s first local natural gas producer in just under 3 years, delivering first gas from the Iguana field in Block 1(a) in November 2018. Founded in 2016 by Joel “Monty” Pemberton, DeNovo’s Iguana greenfield development involved drilling three production wells, installing a Sea Swift conductor supported platform, along with a 45 km offshore and onshore pipeline, and constructing an onshore Gas Processing Unit with a capacity to process up to 90 MMSCFD of natural gas.
In 2018, the national spotlight was on the closure of the Petrotrin refinery and many were concerned about the availability of refined products, in particular, transport fuels. Most of these concerns appear to have been alleviated with the functioning of the new company, Paria Fuel Trading Company.
The first few months of 2019 are set to be a busy time for deepwater exploration in Trinidad and Tobago, with BHP reportedly set to drill three wells to follow up its Bongos 2 discovery last year. The Bongos 2 well was drilled in BHP’s Trinidad and Tobago Deep Atlantic Area (TTDAA) Block 14, in deepwater east of Tobago. BP holds a non-operator share in the block. The wells will be drilled by the Deepwater Invictus drillship, which has been drilling for BHP in TTDAA and the Gulf of Mexico.
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Trinidad & Tobago Energy Conference 2019. I would like to say a special welcome to all our international visitors and also to those of you who are attending the conference for the first time.
Once again, it is my distinct honour and pleasure to deliver the feature address at this the opening of 2019 Energy Conference and Trade Show hosted by the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago. I want to thank the organizers for the sterling effort dedicated towards organizing this very important event and for being so kind to invite me to address you. It is an opportune moment, coming soon after my nationwide broadcasts and public conversations with the nation, on the state of affairs of the economy of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) and particularly, the contribution of the energy sector.
The 20th Ministerial Meeting of Gas Exporting Countries was held in Trinidad and Tobago in mid- November and the Ministry of Energy hosted a T&T Gas Symposium which featured a keynote address by the Prime Minister, Dr. the Honourable Keith Rowley.
The first export of crude oil from Petrotrin was loaded onto the tanker Hellespont Progress on Tuesday 30th October 2018 and is listed as being destined for Panama on marine tracking websites. According to a press release from Petrotrin dated 1st November 2018, the tanker was loaded with approximately 500,000 barrels of crude oil which was purchased by Trafigura Oil Traders, one of the world’s major commodity traders.
The Energy Chamber wishes to publicly recognize and applaud the outstanding achievement of contracting companies who have demonstrated a commitment to high HSE standards in their organizations. All companies were certified during the period May 2017 – August 2018.
The Joint Chambers have noted the comments made by President of the Industrial Court, Justice Deborah Thomas-Felix, at a special sitting to mark the opening of the court’s new term.
The Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago warmly welcomes the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago and congratulates both governments on this positive step towards strengthening regional economic and social integration.
Despite an uptake in activity in 2018 due to new drilling programmes coming on stream, local companies are not feeling optimistic about their business prospects.
The decline in Trinidad and Tobago’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports over the past few years, on the back of falling natural gas production, has seen big declines in the volume of exports to Argentina and Brazil. Volumes destined for Trinidad and Tobago’s other major markets, such as Chile, USA, Central America and the Caribbean have remained relatively robust.
