It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Energy Chamber’s 5th Annual Energy Efficiency and Renewables Conference. This is the second time that we are conducting the conference virtually and I’m pleased to have heard from Dax that there are over 450 in attendance – thank you all, this is a positive indicator that Dax and his team are doing a great job and that more of us are recognizing that the future sources of energy and their transformation to electricity and other forms that are useful for society, will be different and we’re all tuning in to contribute and to seize opportunities that will arise.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am indeed honoured to have been asked to join you today for what has become a staple feature of the energy industry. I dare say that, perhaps more than any other industry, your Energy Conference and now this offspring, have withstood the test of time. The irony of us gathering virtually, rather than in person, for a conference that discusses our transitioning away from reliance on fossil fuels, is not wasted.
It is my distinct pleasure in participating in the Energy Chamber’s 5th Annual Energy Efficiency and Renewables Conference which is aptly titled “Leading the Transition”.
bp and Equinor completed the formation of their strategic US offshore wind partnership. This includes bp’s $1.1 billion purchase from Equinor of a 50% interest in two major lease areas off the US East Coast. The new partnership will develop up to 4.4GW through two projects – Empire Wind and Beacon Wind – and together pursue further growth in the US offshore wind market.
It is my honour to address you today in such a critical time for the energy sector, and to welcome you to the virtual launch of the Energy Conference 2021. Over the years, we have witnessed the Energy Conference grow to become a much-anticipated annual fixture on our calendars, and with good reason. The Energy Conference has become something of a one-stop shop, a central point of focus which brings together key players from the energy sector, and presents opportunities to forge business relationships, all within a proven hydrocarbon province, with advantageous regional linkages.
The year since our last Energy Conference, in February 2020, has been a strange and difficult one. Just about this time last year, at our flagship Trinidad & Tobago Energy Conference, there was a palpable sense of optimism in the sector. After years of decline, Trinidad & Tobago’s gas production had seen two years of growth and there were many new investments on the horizon. Guyana had just joined the ranks of oil producers and there was positive news of exploration successes coming out of neighbouring Suriname. While prices were not stellar, they were certainly healthy. While it was still early days, the new state-owned Heritage Petroleum had got off to a successful start and the restructuring of the old Petrotrin had happened without major incident.
Proman and The University of the West Indies (The UWI) announced the launch of an exciting new study to examine the potential of a biogas supply chain for Trinidad and Tobago, in line with national decarbonisation and waste-reduction efforts.
Heritage Petroleum Company Limited announces the successful completion of negotiations with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for a new Exploration & Production license in its offshore acreage.
BHP announced that, after 16 years of leadership as BHP’s Country Manager for Trinidad and Tobago, Vincent Pereira will retire, effective June 2021. Michael Stone, Operations Manager in Trinidad and Tobago, will succeed Vincent as Country Manager.
Total and Apache Corporation have made a new significant oil and gas discovery at the Keskesi East-1 well, in Block 58 off the coast of Suriname. This follows previous discoveries at Maka Central, Sapakara West and Kwaskwasi.
Petrobras, in continuation of the communiqué released on 05/04/2020, informs that it signed with V2I Transmissão de Energia Elétrica SA, with Vinci Infraestrutura Gestora de Recursos Ltda. As manager, a contract for the sale of its entire stake in 49% in the company Eólica Mangue Seco 1 - Geradora e Comercializadora de Energia Elétrica SA (“Eólica Mangue Seco 1”), owner of a wind power generation park.
BPC announced the commencement of the drilling of Perseverance #1 offshore Bahamas. The well was spud on 20 December 2020, at 06.30 EST. The well is anticipated to take 45 - 60 days to complete.
The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) signed a natural gas supply agreement with Primera Oil and Gas Limited, a subsidiary of Canadian energy exploration company Touchstone Exploration on Friday 18th December 2020. Primera, acting on behalf of its Joint Venture partner Heritage Petroleum Company Limited, will supply gas from the Ortoire Block, initially from the Coho-1 field.
MPC Capital AG (Deutsche Borse Scale, ISINDE000A1TNWJ4) has announced that RBC Trust (Trinidad and Tobago) Limited, a subsidiary of RBC Financial Caribbean Limited, has committed USD 10 million into its Caribbean listed feeder-vehicle to further grow the portfolio of renewable energy assets.
Proman Stena Bulk has finalised an agreement to build an additional vessel under its joint venture partnership. The methanol-powered Stena Prosperous will join the Stena ProPatria and the Stena ProMare in the Proman Stena fleet in Q2 2022. Each vessel will use 12,500 tonnes per annum of methanol as a marine fuel, significantly reducing emissions in their normal commercial operations compared to conventional marine fuels.
A wave of green and blue hydrogen projects that are poised to be developed in coming years could unlock about $400 billion worth of spending for the service industry between 2020 and 2035, a Rystad Energy industry analysis reveals. The figure excludes separate carbon capture and storage (CCS) development contracts, which could reach almost $35 billion for Europe alone.
Nutrien announced the launch of the agricultural industry’s most comprehensive carbon programme, providing end-to-end support for growers to drive improved sustainability and boost profitability. As the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and services to growers, Nutrien is uniquely positioned to create the only programme at scale. It is ready to partner directly with growers to plan, plant and track sustainable farming practices and improve carbon performance.
Political winds have shifted.
Populists are on defence. Liberals everywhere overwhelmingly see climate change as a central issue. The US will rejoin the Paris climate accord and climate plans will stress the need for the complete and rapid decarbonisation of the global economy. It will take trillions of dollars in spending to get it done and Trinidad and Tobago is super-positioned to take advantage of the spend. Carbon pricing, no longer viewed as politically toxic, is primed for the aggressive and costly climate plans under consideration. Welldesigned carbon pricing systems will save money rather than cost taxpayers.
There are many estimates of the number of Venezuelans in Trinidad and Tobago. The government of TT registered some 16,523 Venezuelan by June 2019 in an attempt to start to formalize the process by which these immigrants participate in our labour market. In 2020 though, R4V put the number of Venezuelans in T&T at 33,400.
