Energy
From The Report: Trinidad & Tobago 2015
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With commercial production of crude oil dating back to 1908, T&T’s long history in the energy industry has helped the country punch above its weight in regional and global terms. In 2013 T&T produced 1.5trn cu feet of natural gas, making it the world’s sixth-largest LNG exporter and largest LNG supplier to the US. T&T is also the world’s largest exporter of ammonia and second-largest exporter of methanol. In recent years natural gas has overtaken oil in importance, with crude oil production declining from a high of 144,674 bpd in 2005 to 81,278 bpd in 2013, reflecting maturing oilfields and operational challenges. Even so, the oil and gas sector remains a key pillar of T&T’s economy, accounting for 42% of GDP in 2014, 80% of exports from April 2013 to May 2014, and 34.8% of fiscal revenues for the period from October 2013 to September 2014. This chapter contains interviews with Kevin Ramnarine, Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs; Norman Christie, Regional President, BP Trinidad and Tobago (BPTT); and Indar Maharaj, President, National Gas Company (NGC).

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Trinidad and Tobago is well equipped to handle new challenges
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The Caribbean island state of Trinidad and Tobago is no newcomer to the oil and gas business. It has been producing hydrocarbons for more than a century, with commercial production of crude oil dating back to 1908. Although a small country, and comparatively speaking a small producer, its long and rich experience in the industry has helped the country punch above its weight in regional and even world terms. In 2013 T&T produced 1.5trn cu feet (tcf) of natural gas, according to the 2015 “Trinidad…

Interview

Kevin Ramnarine, Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs: Interview
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Interview:Kevin Ramnarine What is the current status of the discussions with Venezuela on the unitisation of cross-border fields? KEVIN RAMNARINE: Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela have been in discussions on the unitisation of cross-border reserves for 13 years now. It is something that has never been realised before in the Americas. There are few major cross-border fields around the world that are currently in production. The first and probably most successful agreement was signed in the…

Interview

Norman Christie, Regional President, BP Trinidad and Tobago (BPTT): Interview
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Interview:Norman Christie What savings can be made by the local energy industry during a period of low oil and gas prices? NORMAN CHRISTIE: The industry has a lot of work to do in terms of improving costs in areas such as logistics, improving the ease of doing business and fixing inefficient economic incentives. In the latter respect, the distribution of margins across the gas value chain is inefficient, because of the way the industry has historically developed. In the 1980s and 1990s, it…

Analysis

Trinidad and Tobago will need to greatly streamline processes if it is to capitalise on E&P opportunities
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In more than a century of exploration and production (E&P), Trinidad and Tobago’s oil and gas has come from both onshore and offshore shallow water wells. Now, there are new frontiers to consider: deepwater ( usually defined as depths of at least 1000 metres) and ultra deepwater (3000 metres or more). In the past decade exploration has begun to focus on potential in deep-water deposits beyond the continental shelf east of Trinidad. The eight wells drilled to date confirm the presence of a working…

Analysis

New plans offer more opportunities for domestic processing in Trinidad and Tobago
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Gas production and processing has grown in importance in recent years and is now undisputedly at the centre of Trinidad and Tobago’s economy, accounting for almost 90% of the energy sector. Key upstream gas producers include BP T&T (BPTT), BG Group and EOG Resources Trinidad. The state-owned National Gas Company (NGC) operates in the midstream sector as the sole buyer and seller of gas. It buys from the upstream and distributes to the downstream. The proportion that is not exported as liquefied…

Interview

Indar Maharaj, President, National Gas Company (NGC): Interview
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Interview:Indar Maharaj How is the price of natural gas currently affecting the industry’s operations? MAHARAJ: NGC acquires gas from upstream producers to sell downstream under 15-year contracts. In the early stages of the industry, we adopted fixed-price contracts with an escalation clause. Over the years we found that downstream industries were subject to fluctuations in global commodity prices, which impacts the local economy. In an attempt to reduce risk, most contracts are now indexed…

Analysis

Trinidad and Tobago’s energy sector is set to reach previous production levels through new technologies and contracts
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Over the last two decades Trinidad and Tobago’s natural gas boom has overshadowed crude oil output, which has been slowly declining. Gas production is now leading the race. In terms of energy equivalency, for every unit of oil currently produced there are eight units of gas extracted. However, the government and a number of independent oil companies are confident that output is now set to increase. Regaining Ground While gas production surged ahead, crude oil output began to decline after 2006,…

Analysis

New global realities are encouraging more countries to work together on their energy policies
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In 2015 it is clear that the Caribbean energy balance is beginning to change, creating new challenges and opportunities for regional governments. A number of things are happening simultaneously. Most Caribbean countries are heavily dependent on oil imports and have accumulated high levels of debt. For them, the sharp fall in oil prices since late 2014 is creating temporary breathing space; however, this will not last indefinitely. At the same time, the deep financial difficulties faced by Venezuela,…

Analysis

Trinidad and Tobago’s compliance with a global transparency initiative looks set to draw more business
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In January 2015 Clare Short, a former UK minister and current chair of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global lobby group, announced in Port of Spain that Trinidad and Tobago had become fully compliant with all of the group’s reporting requirements. It was a significant moment for T&T’s oil and gas sector, and for its attempts to achieve high standards in the management of its natural resources. Such a badge of good governance stands to make T&T a more attractive…