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’.
Fifty per cent of energy services companies polled indicated that the value of their business was down in the second quarter of 2019. When asked for reasons that their value of business was down, all respondents indicated that it was due to a decrease in demand for their services. Other major reasons cited were less business opportunities and loss of contracts/projects. Fifty per cent of respondents also indicated that the volume of their business was down in the second quarter of 2019. Respondents indicated that this was due to a decrease in demand for their services and less business opportunities.
Renewable energy in the Caribbean is rapidly growing and most of the islands in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have been eagerly and ambitiously moving towards a more sustainable energy mix. With the exception of Trinidad and Tobago, islands in the region do not have a predominant oil and gas sector that can provide fuel for electricity generation. For most islands, this means that they have to import diesel and other fuels to produce power.
Compressed natural gas (CNG) is clearly expanding by any metric. At a recently concluded CNG Symposium and Open House organised by the NGC CNG, Curtis Mohammed, President of CNG NGC, provided an update on the CNG initiative. During the update, Mohammed provided some key statistics showing the uptake for CNG from 2014 to present.
Within recent times, the Venezuelan migrant crisis has dominated the international and local media. Over the past year in particular, there have been waves of arrivals of Venezuelans into Trinidad, driven in large part by the collapse of the economy and deteriorating living conditions. Many of them have sought employment in different areas of both Trinidad and Tobago. Given Venezuela’s global reputation as a major player in the oil and gas industry, there has been concern in some quarters about Venezuelans coming to work in the energy industry, particularly the petrochemical sector and displacing locals.
In a recent survey undertaken by the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago (Energy Chamber), it was revealed that late payments for work completed continues to occur. The respondents were all energy services companies that are currently engaged in work in the sector. Over 94 per cent of respondents reported that they have significant or very significant financial impacts due to late payments. In addition, almost 70 per cent of companies have reported that the situation has been getting worse over the last three years.
Every time that there are concerns expressed about the future of the oil, gas and petrochemical sectors in Trinidad and Tobago, there are responding calls for the diversification of the economy. These calls are understandable and appropriate, and fully supported by the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago (Energy Chamber). The Energy Chamber views economic diversification as a fundamental issue for our economy and especially the diversification of our exports. As a small open economy, Trinidad and Tobago needs to earn foreign exchange in order to survive and we can no longer rely upon exporting just a handful of energy related commodities.
With its recent 20th anniversary celebrations now in the proverbial rear-view mirror, liquefied natural gas (LNG) production company, Atlantic, is peering into the journey ahead and exploring how it will continue to navigate a very competitive global business.
The Government of Trinidad is committed to working with all stakeholders to raise awareness about this important issue and to put mechanisms in place that will facilitate change.
Our vision is to be a recognized global leader in the development of sustainable energy-related businesses; and our mission, to create exceptional value from natural gas and related energy businesses through our people and strategic partnerships.
Today's energy system is largely tied to fossil fuels that when used release greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. The demand for energy is growing significantly across the globe and resulting in global warming. We need a cleaner energy system if we are to meet this growing demand and tackle climate change.
BP Trinidad & Tobago is honoured to sponsor this event for a second year because we believe that it provides an ideal forum for the generation of ideas - and discussions - that are needed to chart a course to a lower carbon future for Trinidad and Tobago.
Its gives me great pleasure to welcome you to our annual conference dealing with Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. This is the third time we are holding this event as a stand-alone conference, though we did previously have an event on the final day at our annual Trinidad & Tobago Energy Conference when we looked at renewable energy and related issues. It is the first time that we are holding the conference here at the Hilton Hotel; last year we sold out the Yara Auditorium at the Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, hence the change in venue.
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.
At the closing of the Trinidad and Tobago Energy Conference 2019, the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago’s (Energy Chamber) Energy Efficiency Declaration was launched. At the time of the launch, 11 of the major companies in the energy sector gave commitments towards achieving more efficient operations by committing to the declaration. At present, more than 50 companies have signed the declaration.
On Thursday 9th May, 2019, Mr. Derek Hudson, Vice President and Country Chair of Shell Trinidad and Tobago Limited, signed the Safe to Work (STOW) Charter, demonstrating the Company’s commitment to the objectives of STOW. Also present at the signing which took place at the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago’s Executive Office were Dr. Thackwray Driver, President & CEO of the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago; Mr. Fitzroy Harewood, Chairman of the STOW Implementation Board and President of Pt. Lisas Nitrogen Limited and Mr. Eugene Okpere, Chief Operating Officer of Shell Trinidad and Tobago Limited.
The 2019 shallow water bid round was the first offer of new acreage for oil and gas exploration in Trinidad & Tobago since the downturn in global oil prices in late 2014. The bid round, that closed earlier today, saw bp and Shell, the two major existing gas producers in Trinidad & Tobago jointly bidding on three of the six blocks on offer. The joint bp and Shell bids were received for the three east coast blocks on offer, with no other bids being received for the blocks. No bids were received for the two blocks off Trinidad’s north coast and for the one block on offer in the Gulf of Paria.
Other players in Guyana are gearing up for exploration activity. The news out of Guyana is normally dominated by the successful campaign by ExxonMobil and partner, Hess. While they have certainly been the drivers of the prolific discoveries in Guyana, other majors are also putting things in place to hopefully replicate the success of Exxon.
If Trinidad and Tobago is going to make a success of the newly formed state oil company, Heritage Petroleum (Heritage), the Minister of Finance is going to have to follow through on his previous commitments to review the way in which Supplemental Petroleum Tax (SPT) is structured. The current way in which this tax against revenue is structured acts as a serious impediment to investment in the oil sector.
At the 2019 Trinidad and Tobago Energy Conference, the keynote speaker was Michael Stoppard, Vice President and Chief Strategist for Global Gas, IHS Markit.
