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Ten million people in the Caribbean are without access to electricity due to a lack of financial resources for needed advancements. The Caribbean transportation and power sectors rely on dirty and expensive fuels. Natural gas vented into the air during oil production in Trinidad can be used to generate resources for transformative low emission and renewable energy projects in the Caribbean.
I was very pleased and a bit surprised to hear about the “light bulb swap” project announced in the Minister of Finance’s national budget speech. The reason I was surprised was that Minister Imbert had seemed rather sceptical about the idea when I presented it to him, and other members of the National Tripartite Advisory Council, in a pre-budget consultation session. I guess his opinion might have been swayed when the economic data supporting the idea was presented as part of the National Energy Efficiency Committee’s report submitted to the Minister of Public Utilities.
One of the things that upsets me the most is hearing of cases where small contractors have been ripped off by unscrupulous “consultants” selling them the promise that they will be STOW certified if they just pay the consultant some exorbitant fee. It really makes me see red.
Performance management (PM) can be a leverage point for change in Trinidad and Tobago as there is a gap between productivity and reward at the national level, which culturally and systemically infiltrates private firms and the public sector. The WEF (2017) reports ‘poor work ethic in national labour force’ as the most problematic factor for doing business in Trinidad and Tobago. Given this context, this article will explore how effective performance management systems can be used by organisations to close this gap.
Sitting on a panel discussing technology and leadership in the energy sector at the 2019 Trinidad & Tobago Energy Conference, Claire Fitzpatrick, BPTT’s Regional President, was asked her opinion on the most important leadership quality. She stunned and delighted the packed audience with her response: ‘a little bit of humility’. Claire explained that the big changes that she saw confronting BPTT and the industry meant that she needed to be ‘a lot more humble and actually listen to the organisation … [as] some of the best ideas and best people to implement … are at early stages of their career’. She told the conference that she saw the role as leader as being the person ‘to take the barriers out’ rather than being the person to ‘tell you exactly how it will be done’.
One of the things that was very clear from our recent event on increasing oil production in Trinidad and Tobago is that the leadership of Heritage Petroleum (Heritage), the new Trinidad and Tobago state-owned oil and gas production company, are very bullish about the belowground assets that they now control. The company is clearly excited about the prospects of not only revitalising production from their existing fields, but also about new exploration success, especially in the Gulf of Paria. This is positive news from a sector that has for far too long seemed in terminal decline.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) 2018 Global Competiveness Index (GCI) ranks Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) as last out of 140 for Co-operation in Labour-employee relations. This article explores the role possibilities for trade unions given that we are in the early stages of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) which is poised to radically transform the workplace.
Organizations are incessantly gathering information and data across every element of their supply chains, from oil fields and pipelines, to refineries, power stations and manufacturing. It has been estimated that 90 per cent of the data in the world today has been created in the last two years alone, but it is feared that data overload is causing a barrier to the effective use of this information.
The Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago’s (Energy Chamber) conference theme of ‘Technology: Transforming the Industry’ will rightly be interpreted by many as a call to acknowledge the role that innovative geological, engineering, process, and IT solutions have – and will continue to have – as local energy companies strive to maintain global competitiveness. I endorse this, but I would like to broaden the idea of the technology impact to consider the impact of new technologies in the space of reputation management, namely social media.
As with many industries, the evolution of the energy sector is increasingly being driven by technology — more advanced solutions that continue to propel the industry forward.
Change management models need to be rethought. Change management is usually applied at the organisational level with a focus on controlling disruption and transitioning people towards a new modus operandi. There is need to broaden this context by tracing the implications of the fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) from the global level to the individual.
We are in the midst of a revolution. Digital technology is transforming every aspect of human lives, levelling the playing field and causing shifts in the balance of global power. Germany has sought to hijack and capitalise on this movement to the benefit of its manufacturing sector by labelling it ‘Industrie 4.0’ (Industry 4.0) and positioning itself as the world leader. While creating a focus for research and development (R&D) activities in larger Germany companies, its allimportant ‘Mittelstand’ or small and medium enterprises (SME) sector has been a bit slower to adopt the emerging technologies, and it is debatable whether Germany really is the global leader.
Sustainable development refers to a process of thoughtful growth that enables societies to meet their needs today without jeopardising the viability of future generations. The global compact to grow by this principle is elaborated in 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) that have been set and agreed by members of the United Nations General Assembly. These SDGs are targets for nations to meet by 2030 that tackle a broad range of development issues, such as poverty, hunger, health, education, climate change, gender equality, water, sanitation, energy, urban growth and social justice.
One of the major barriers facing small contractors and service companies wanting to do business with international oil and gas companies is meeting the high safety, health and environmental standards that they demand of all their suppliers. If a contractor or service company does not meet the operator’s health, safety and environmental (HSE) requirements, they will not even be able to bid for work. This is a particular challenge in countries with new hydrocarbon industries, such as Guyana, especially if they do not have an existing, well-developed, national legislative framework and a history of a strong safety culture. Operators are not going to lower their standards to accommodate local contractors. And nor should they — we all want people to be safe and healthy, and the environment to be protected.
There are currently four drillships operating in the waters of Suriname, T&T and Guyana. All four are exploring for hydrocarbons in water depths > 1000 meters. In June 2018, BHP Billiton resumed deepwater exploration drilling in TTDAA 5 when it spudded the Victoria 1 well. BHP has reported that, Victoria 1 encountered hydrocarbons (most likely natural gas) but apart from that not much more is known.
One of the primary objectives of NGC’s Strategic Plan is to restore balance to the gas supply scenario in Trinidad and Tobago. With supply currently below demand, the Company has been looking at different ways to bridge the gap. Measures have included partnering with Venezuela to monetise the Dragon field, lobbying for renewable energy uptake so molecules could be diverted from electricity generation, collaborating with upstream operators to bring new fields into production and continue their exploration thrust.
At the recent launch of the Trinidad and Tobago Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (TTEITI) Report 2016, perhaps the most anticipated information, apart from whether or not any ‘unexplained discrepancies’ were reported, was the figure for total flows to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago from the reporting companies in the oil and gas sector. And, even with some knowledge and appreciation of the steady decline in commodity prices coupled with low oil and gas production levels, this figure will still come as a surprise to many.
After a period of dormancy, drilling activity is starting to ramp up. As an operator, you will be looking to take advantage of low rig rates and will ideally be looking for a ‘hot rig’ (i.e. an operational rig), to avoid risk and delay which can occur from contracting nonoperational rigs that require reactivation from a state of warm or cold stacking.
The Trinidad and Tobago energy sector finds itself at a very critical juncture requiring a mindset to navigate a difficult period to survive the long term. It was in this context that NGC provided its insights at this year’s Energy Conference. The contributions made by sector colleagues have undoubtedly bolstered the theme of “Maximizing Value Through Collaboration”, as the sector leverages synergies and partnerships for a successful 2018 and beyond.
It has been three years since The Public Procurement and Disposal of Property Act No. 1 of 2015 was assented to, and July 31, 2018 would make it three years since its partial proclamation. An act intended to, among other things, repeal the Central Tenders Board Act and establish an Office of Procurement Regulation.
