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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.
A good way to gauge the business climate of the energy services sector is to examine the level of confidence that energy service contractors have in the activity of the sector. The Energy Chamber’s Energy Services Sectors Survey (ESSS) is a quarterly survey of energy service contractor which allows for such an assessment.
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.
Trinidad and Tobago needs direct foreign investment for its economic and social development. The economy of Trinidad and Tobago is – and will remain for the foreseeable future – an oil, gas and petrochemical-based economy. This means that we need very high levels of capital investment into our economy, each and every year. Oil and gas reservoirs have a natural decline rate and in order to simply maintain a national plateau of production we require billions of US dollars of investment every year. Given the current shortfalls in gas production, there is a particular need to attract investment into upstream gas production.
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).
Trinidad and Tobago as a major bunkering location in the western hemisphere?
Yes, it’s quite possible, insists Aegean Marine Petroleum, one of the world's leading bunkering companies, which has been offering bunkering services locally since 2009.
The state-owned Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) is representing the interests of the government in this exercise.
ExxonMobil began drilling a second appraisal well in an offshore field near where its Liza 1 well struck oil last year. The enthusiastic exploration and appraisal schedule for Guyana by ExxonMobil is being pushed by the company’s plans to accelerate commercial development of Liza.
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.
