Staatsolie, the Suriname state owned oil company, recently completed an expansion of the Tout Lui Faut refining complex. The process began more than 10 years ago when the expansion of the refinery was first designed and conceptualised. The project looked at boosting production capacity for crude oil and expanding the number of refined products. The expansion has doubled the refining capacity of crude oil from 7,000 bpd to 15,000 bpd. The facility also now produces premium diesel and premium gasoline.
Trinidad and Tobago's apparent inability to commence the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Caribbean markets, as has been mooted for many years, is beginning to frustrate entrepreneur and gas liquids trader, George Naime, who has been waiting impatiently for some time to throw himself into that business with gusto.
Energy Chamber CEO, Dr Thackwray “Dax” Driver has been appointed to the newly established National Tripartite Advisory Council (NTAC). This new tripartite body, chaired by Minister of Planning Camille Robinson-Regis, brings together equal representation from the government, the business sector and the labour movement with the objective of promoting dialogue on important national development issues. Establishment of a tripartite advisory Council was one of the PNM’s manifesto commitments prior to the 2015 general election and the new body has been widely welcomed by all stakeholders.
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”.
The current low commodity price environment has focused national attention on the diversification of the economy. In a small economy, diversification is only going to happen if we have competitive, export-driven companies who are able to sell goods and services beyond our borders. If we are going to be globally competitive, we urgently need to reverse the current trend in declining productivity.
Professor Andrew Jupiter Chairman of Petrotrin, Trinidad & Tobago’s national oil company and Professor of Petroleum Studies at the University of the West Indies, has suggested that the government needs to reduce profit taxes for small and marginal gas fields if these are to be brought into production.
The Dominican Republic (Dom Rep) wants help from Trinidad and Tobago to establish a hydrocarbon industry. This was made clear by the Spanish speaking Caribbean country’s Minister of Energy and Mines, Dr. Antonio Isa Conde, who visited Trinidad and Tobago with a team of officials to address the Energy Chamber’s mid- January Energy Conference.
The Government of Trinidad & Tobago’s stated policy is “to foster and develop a peaceful, competitive and productive industrial relations climate”. The business community fully supports this policy objective and recognizes that achieving this objective is vital for the social and economic development of Trinidad & Tobago.
The most recent national labour market dataset for Trinidad & Tobago indicates the extremely surprising fact that energy sector employment increased by a staggering twenty-two percent from the previous quarter, with 4,000 additional people being recorded as employed in the petroleum sector.
Range Resources Limited plans to commence one of the largest waterflood projects ever seen in Trinidad during this year. Despite the challenging price environment, Range has confirmed that it will be making significant investments over the coming years, in the hope of establishing itself as one of the most prominent independent operators in Trinidad.
Anglo-Australian multi-national BHP Billiton has made the ground-breaking decision to classify its holdings in Trinidad and Tobago as Tier One.
The Government of Trinidad & Tobago needs to urgently start the proposed consultation process with the oil, gas and petrochemical industry. The emphasis of the consultation process must be on how upstream investment dollars are going to be attracted to Trinidad & Tobago in the context of huge cuts in global capital expenditure in the current low commodity price environment.
There are no technical barriers preventing the use of Renewables in Trinidad and Tobago. This from Acting General Manager from T&TEC Courtenay Mark during the panel discussion on Achieving 10% renewables by 2021 during the Green Energy Day at the Trinidad and Tobago Energy Conference. Meeting the target however is predicated on several changes on the regulatory and pricing side, which therefore throws the ball in the court of the regulators.
The Energy Chamber has put Trinidad & Tobago on the map for the work being done in the development of a carbon market or emissions trading system (ETS), according to Katie Sullivan, Director of the Americas, International Emissions Trading Association.
The Prime Minister urged companies both in and out of the energy sector to take the initiative and seek opportunities for expansion outside of Trinidad and Tobago.
Offshore Technology Solutions Limited (OTSL) has moved into a former steel mill in Sealots and converted it into their new fabrication facility.
Physical plants are subject to age-related degradation mechanisms. Examples of these would be classified as follows; corrosion, fatigue, wear, metallurgical transformations, non-metallic degradation, and subsistence.
The recycling movement locally has been gaining some momentum in recent years, at least in terms of awareness, even if action is still confined to a relatively small sector of the population. There are more bins and recycling points throughout the country than ever before, even if many of them are filled with rubbish.
There is an advertisement on the radio for communication training service that ends with a most dubious declaration that “It is not what you say, but how you say it”. While this statement that ‘style trumps content’ might be true in one of the hallowed governance institutions of our country where any content is allowed once one conforms to the rules of the Speaker, it is certainly not an operating principle for communications in the world of business.
Sanctity of contracts. This is probably an unexpected first line in an article advocating the need to renegotiate contractual arrangements however it is a very relevant consideration. Sanctity of contract refers to the principle that once a party enters into a contract, that party will honour its contractual obligations.
