It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Energy Chamber’s 5th Annual Energy Efficiency and Renewables Conference. This is the second time that we are conducting the conference virtually and I’m pleased to have heard from Dax that there are over 450 in attendance – thank you all, this is a positive indicator that Dax and his team are doing a great job and that more of us are recognizing that the future sources of energy and their transformation to electricity and other forms that are useful for society, will be different and we’re all tuning in to contribute and to seize opportunities that will arise.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am indeed honoured to have been asked to join you today for what has become a staple feature of the energy industry. I dare say that, perhaps more than any other industry, your Energy Conference and now this offspring, have withstood the test of time. The irony of us gathering virtually, rather than in person, for a conference that discusses our transitioning away from reliance on fossil fuels, is not wasted.
It is my distinct pleasure in participating in the Energy Chamber’s 5th Annual Energy Efficiency and Renewables Conference which is aptly titled “Leading the Transition”.
bp and Equinor completed the formation of their strategic US offshore wind partnership. This includes bp’s $1.1 billion purchase from Equinor of a 50% interest in two major lease areas off the US East Coast. The new partnership will develop up to 4.4GW through two projects – Empire Wind and Beacon Wind – and together pursue further growth in the US offshore wind market.
It is my honour to address you today in such a critical time for the energy sector, and to welcome you to the virtual launch of the Energy Conference 2021. Over the years, we have witnessed the Energy Conference grow to become a much-anticipated annual fixture on our calendars, and with good reason. The Energy Conference has become something of a one-stop shop, a central point of focus which brings together key players from the energy sector, and presents opportunities to forge business relationships, all within a proven hydrocarbon province, with advantageous regional linkages.
The year since our last Energy Conference, in February 2020, has been a strange and difficult one. Just about this time last year, at our flagship Trinidad & Tobago Energy Conference, there was a palpable sense of optimism in the sector. After years of decline, Trinidad & Tobago’s gas production had seen two years of growth and there were many new investments on the horizon. Guyana had just joined the ranks of oil producers and there was positive news of exploration successes coming out of neighbouring Suriname. While prices were not stellar, they were certainly healthy. While it was still early days, the new state-owned Heritage Petroleum had got off to a successful start and the restructuring of the old Petrotrin had happened without major incident.
Proman and The University of the West Indies (The UWI) announced the launch of an exciting new study to examine the potential of a biogas supply chain for Trinidad and Tobago, in line with national decarbonisation and waste-reduction efforts.
Heritage Petroleum Company Limited announces the successful completion of negotiations with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for a new Exploration & Production license in its offshore acreage.
BHP announced that, after 16 years of leadership as BHP’s Country Manager for Trinidad and Tobago, Vincent Pereira will retire, effective June 2021. Michael Stone, Operations Manager in Trinidad and Tobago, will succeed Vincent as Country Manager.
BPC announced the commencement of the drilling of Perseverance #1 offshore Bahamas. The well was spud on 20 December 2020, at 06.30 EST. The well is anticipated to take 45 - 60 days to complete.
The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) signed a natural gas supply agreement with Primera Oil and Gas Limited, a subsidiary of Canadian energy exploration company Touchstone Exploration on Friday 18th December 2020. Primera, acting on behalf of its Joint Venture partner Heritage Petroleum Company Limited, will supply gas from the Ortoire Block, initially from the Coho-1 field.
MPC Capital AG (Deutsche Borse Scale, ISINDE000A1TNWJ4) has announced that RBC Trust (Trinidad and Tobago) Limited, a subsidiary of RBC Financial Caribbean Limited, has committed USD 10 million into its Caribbean listed feeder-vehicle to further grow the portfolio of renewable energy assets.
Proman Stena Bulk has finalised an agreement to build an additional vessel under its joint venture partnership. The methanol-powered Stena Prosperous will join the Stena ProPatria and the Stena ProMare in the Proman Stena fleet in Q2 2022. Each vessel will use 12,500 tonnes per annum of methanol as a marine fuel, significantly reducing emissions in their normal commercial operations compared to conventional marine fuels.
A wave of green and blue hydrogen projects that are poised to be developed in coming years could unlock about $400 billion worth of spending for the service industry between 2020 and 2035, a Rystad Energy industry analysis reveals. The figure excludes separate carbon capture and storage (CCS) development contracts, which could reach almost $35 billion for Europe alone.
Nutrien announced the launch of the agricultural industry’s most comprehensive carbon programme, providing end-to-end support for growers to drive improved sustainability and boost profitability. As the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and services to growers, Nutrien is uniquely positioned to create the only programme at scale. It is ready to partner directly with growers to plan, plant and track sustainable farming practices and improve carbon performance.
2020 has been an exceedingly difficult year for the energy industry and in particular, for energy services contractors. Seventy-five per cent of respondents indicated that the value of their business was below normal in Q3 2020. Seventyfive per cent of those companies indicated that the decline was due largely to reduced demand for services, while 67% also indicated that there were fewer business opportunities during the time period. To a lesser extent, companies also identified a decrease in selling prices and loss of contracts as other reasons for the reduced business.
Senator the Honourable Franklin Khan, Minister of Energy and Energy Industries assumed presidency at the 50th Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) Meeting of Ministers which took place on November 19th, 2020 via webinar.
In its Q3 report, Touchstone Exploration unveiled that it has invested $5,758,000 in exploration activities onshore Trinidad. The expenditure has been primarily focused on Chinook-1 drilling operations and surface facility equipment expenditures relating to Coho-1 tie-in operations.
Ramps Logistics has been awarded a fully integrated contract with Tullow Oil for its upcoming drilling campaign in Block 47, Suriname. The company stated that the contract covers logistics and shore-based operations between Trinidad and Suriname.
