Energy
From The Report: Trinidad & Tobago 2017
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Low global oil and gas prices have left Trinidad and Tobago’s energy sector with challenges, and underinvestment in upstream exploration has resulted in declining production and gas availability, leading to downstream industries operating below capacity. Still, the country continues to attract strong investment from oil majors and independent producers. With the government and sector players committed to crafting an equitable new fiscal regime, a strong energy services industry and a new frontier in deepwater exploration, there is good reason to expect the sector to bounce back over the medium term. This chapter contains interviews with Derek Hudson, Vice-President, Shell Trinidad and Tobago; Mark Loquan, President, The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago; and Vincent Pereira, President, BHP Trinidad and Tobago & Chairman, Energy Chamber of T&T.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Bouncing back: Sector aims to address various challenges and reverse recent declines in production
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For the last four decades Trinidad and Tobago’s oil and gas industry has been the primary engine driving the economy. However, it has faced challenges during the last three years due to an extended period of low international hydrocarbons prices. With prices expected to begin a moderate recovery in 2017, the industry may now experience some relief. The medium- and long-term focus will remain on halting and reversing recent declines in production. T&T gas fields set to come on-line…

Interview

Innovative thinking: Derek Hudson, Vice-President, Shell Trinidad and Tobago, on current industry strategy and collaboration
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What needs to be done to enhance the viability of renewed oil and gas exploration? DEREK HUDSON: It’s very easy to say that T&T is uncompetitive; the fiscal terms need to be improved, and there needs to be a better atmosphere in order to attract capital to T&T and do what is necessary for development. However, it is a two-edged sword. There hasn’t been enough exploration to match the decline in production, and in a $50 per barrel oil environment the competition for capital is…

Analysis

Supply side: A review of the upstream segment to help address slowing output
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Trinidad and Tobago’s oil and gas fields are found in six main areas. The three offshore fields are in the North Coast Marine Area, the East Coast Marine Area and the South-west Coast Marine Area. The three onshore areas are located in South-east Trinidad (including Guayaguayare and Moruga), South-west Trinidad (Point Fortin, Guapo and Forest Reserve) and Central Trinidad (including the Central Range Block and the Central Block). Currently, the top priority in the upstream realm – in…

Analysis

Management makeover: State-owned oil company faces reorganisation
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Navigating the future of state-owned oil company Petrotrin has become one of the most urgent strategic decisions facing the administration of Prime Minister Keith Rowley. Petrotrin is recording fiscal losses and has become heavily indebted. The company has made some poor managerial decisions, operates alongside a powerful trade union – the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) – and seems unable at present to deliver on two key outcomes: increased crude oil output and a commercially…

Interview

Develop and diversify: Mark Loquan, President, The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC), on international opportunities and supply
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How is gas supply developing in the country? MARK LOQUAN: We’re making headway on the Gas Master Plan’s primary focus of gas certainty. BP’s Trinidad Onshore Compression project was commissioned in April 2017, with the potential to deliver an additional 200m standard cu feet (scf) per day, and the principle terms for the Angelin field were agreed upon in May. The Juniper field will also come onstream in the third quarter of 2017 as scheduled. We’re further encouraged by BHP and Shell’s…

Analysis

Broadening the scope: Energy companies are looking for expansion opportunities in the region and beyond
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The twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago has been, in its own right, a focal point for oil and gas exploration and production for decades. However, recent discoveries and developments are drawing attention to the surrounding area of the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America. In this wider perspective, T&T should be viewed not as a stand-alone energy industry, but as part of a widely connected regional energy hub. Guyana Gains Most interest in the region has been generated…

Analysis

Changing times: The country is conducting analyses of both the downstream and upstream segments
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The company Atlantic operates the most prominent downstream processing plant in T&T. In economic terms, it represents more than half of the output value of the refining industry. The plant is a four-train gas liquefaction facility located at Point Fortin in the south-west of Trinidad. It is the sixth-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility in the world, and the largest in the western hemisphere. The operating company was set up in 1995 as a joint venture between four…

Interview

Capacity and capability: Vincent Pereira, President, BHP Trinidad and Tobago; and Chairman, Energy Chamber of T&T, on developing deepwater potential and industry competitiveness
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How significant is T&T’s deepwater potential, and how feasible is extraction? VINCENT PEREIRA: To have a gas discovery in T&T’s first frontier deepwater well is a good sign, and we certainly see tier-1, multi-trillion-cu-feet potential. However, the reality is that deepwater is very expensive to explore and develop. Therefore, we need to see sufficient scale to attract major investments and provide a reasonable rate of return for the risk that is involved. We remain very positive…