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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 is my pleasure to deliver this keynote address at this most renowned Conference that has grown from strength to strength, it is Premier in the Caribbean. I look forward to this as it presents an opportunity to showcase the state of the domestic energy sector and to outline plans for the year ahead.
Good morning. Thank you for the kind welcome. It’s my pleasure to be here, and to be addressing this conference for the first time. It’s been an interesting and enjoyable start and I look forward to continuing to build my knowledge of the industry here as well as playing an active role in shaping its future.
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.
Trinidad & Tobago’s energy sector is predicted to make a modest recovery in 2019, on the back of increased natural gas production and hence increased LNG and petrochemical exports. However, this recovery is fragile and could be threatened by continued low oil prices, especially if gas and petrochemical prices also decline. While gas production is predicted to increase, the future of oil production largely relies upon the successful transformation of the legacy Petrotrin upstream assets into the new Heritage Petroleum company and the ability of the new company to attract capital and successfully drill new wells, improve the integrity of its existing assets and improve operational efficiency.
In a few years from now, we may look back at events in 2018 as the beginning of a turning point in industrial relations in Trinidad and Tobago.
Perenco T&T Limited advises all mariners that on or around 28th December 2018 the company will be conducting a Geophysical Survey within the TSP Block, to collect data on the seafloor structure.
At approximately 11.25 a.m. yesterday (Thursday December 20, 2018), Heritage Petroleum’s HSE department received reports of oil having been sighted in the vicinity between RP1 and Platform 9, Soldado Main Field. The Company’s Oil Spill Contingency Plan was immediately activated and the relevant personnel were dispatched to the scene.
The Safe TO Work Implementation Board wishes to remind all contractors and operators that the recommended colour for certification of slings for the next period i.e. January 1st – June 30th 2019 is Orange. The recommended colours and the relevant time periods are indicated below. This colour pattern will repeat for subsequent two year periods.
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.
The contract itself may not set the pulse racing: La Brea’s Tofco has been given the go ahead to build the jacket for bpTT’s Cassia C offshore development – a welcome but much smaller contract than the Juniper project a few years ago, when both the jacket and the topside were built in T&T.
As I am sure that all of us in this room are all too aware, 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 from all their suppliers.
Jamaica, often regarded for its sun sand and sea, has been undergoing a major shift in Jamaica’s oil and gas exploration since 2006 with the signing of contracts to acquire in the vicinity of 15,000 line kilometres of 2D seismic offshore Jamaica. Once acquired and processed, this updated seismic data allowed for the transition of play concepts found onshore to be mapped and extended into the offshore environs. This evolution of the Jamaican geology generated interest from various operators that derived clastic and carbonate plays offshore being charged by both Cretaceous and Tertiary source rocks.
According to a report in Upstream, U.S. player, Kosmos Energy, has drilled a second duster off Suriname at the Pontoenoe-1 wildcat in Block 42. The well will now be plugged and abandoned, and the well results integrated into the ongoing evaluation of the remaining prospects in Kosmos’ acreage position.
The third drillship contracted by Exxon in Guyana, the Noble Tom Madden has spud Pluma. This represents the 12th well drilled in Guyana by Exxon. Thus far, the company has been successful in nine of those wells.
A joint venture among Guyanese companies, Mines Services Ltd, a member of the Farfan & Mendes group of companies, TOTALTEC; and Trinidad and Tobago energy services company, Process Components Limited (ProCom), has led to the development of a new energy services company, Jaguar Oilfield Services Guyana Inc. (Jaguar).
Touchstone, in their operational update at the end of October, has revealed that they have increased production by 22 per cent, compared to production in Q3 2017.
The first export of crude oil from Petrotrin was loaded onto the tanker, Hellespont Progress, on October 30th 2018 and was delivered to the Caribbean Sea terminal of the trans-Panama pipeline. This suggests the crude was destined for an Asian or US West Coast Refinery. According to a press release from Petrotrin dated November 1st 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 crude went to Panama, to the port at the Caribbean side of the Trans-Panama Pipeline. The Trans-Panama pipeline links the Caribbean with the Pacific so the crude was probably eventually going to either a West Coast USA refinery or Asia.
In October, the Trinidad and Tobago Cabinet gave the go-ahead for an eight-block bid round which is set to move forward in early November. Six blocks are shallow-water offshore blocks and two are onshore.
