(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Vashtee Achibar, 5.Sep.2018) — Industrial relations consultant Gerard Pinard wants to know whether Government considered every available option before it took the decision to close down the state-owned Petrotrin refinery. He said the decision was not a good one and will hurt the economy and the […]
Category: Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago energy
T&T Prime Minister’s Office: Reinventing Petrotrin
(Office of the T&T Prime Minister, 3.Sep.2018) — Trinidad and Tobago is heavily dependent on our involvement in the natural gas industry by way of the processing and export of natural gas or gas-based products such as methanol, fertilizer and other products. What follows are comments from The Office of […]
Kamla Floats Guyana Help for Trinidad Refinery
(Stabroek News, 2.Sep.2018) — Trinidad Opposition Leader Kamla Persad Bissessar has raised the prospect of Guyana oil being used to rescue the beleaguered Petrotrin refinery but Prime Minister Keith Rowley last evening said the aged facility had no reasonable prospect. Defending the decision by his government to close the over […]
Energy MoU Soon Between Guyana, Trinidad
(Stabroek News, Marcelle Thomas, 2.Sep.2018) — A long-delayed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Guyana and Trinidad on energy cooperation is expected to be signed in the coming weeks, according to Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Energy, Franklin Khan. “The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is due to sign a memorandum […]
Petrotrin Severance to Cost at Least $1 Bln
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Carla Bridglal, 31.Aug.2018) — Severance packages for Petrotrin workers will cost upwards of $1 billion, Energy Minister Franklin Khan estimated yesterday. But compared to the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery’s annual loss—estimated at $2 billion—that’s a small price to pay. Khan said the company was still “crunching the numbers” […]
Lennox Petroleum to Take Legal Action Against OWTU
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Yvonne Webb, 31.Aug.2018) — Lennox Petroleum Services Ltd has initiated legal action against members of the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU), one day after they protested inside the company’s Princess Margaret Street, San Fernando office. CEO Wayne Persad has also applied for an injunction to prevent […]
Trinidad: Crouching Tiger
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Kiran Mathur Mohammed, Camille Moreno, 30.Aug.2018) — The Dragon gas deal signed last Saturday is worth celebrating. The clink of glasses will be heard in boardrooms in both countries. The government deserves it for getting this far, amid the chaos in Venezuela, and the spectre of […]
Shut-Down of Historic Petrotrin Refinery
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Carla Bridglal, 30.Aug.2018) — On the eve of the country’s 56th anniversary of Independence, the board of Petrotrin announced it was shutting down the state oil company’s refinery and marketing operations, choosing instead to focus on exploration and production. Over 2,500 jobs will be affected, and […]
Petrotrin Concerned: Ramnarine and Seepersad-Bachan
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Sasha Harrinanan, 29.Aug.2018) — Former energy ministers Kevin Ramnarine and Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, both of whom served under the previous administration, are asking if Petrotrin’s board considered the wider impact of closing its refinery. Ramnarine, in a statement after the board’s announcement yesterday, said “the closure of […]
Petrotrin Financials, Details About Pointe-a-Pierre Refinery
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 29.Aug.2018) — It’s official: Petrotrin or the Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited will cease to operate its lone refinery located at Pointe-a-Pierre. What follows are details about the company, as per its website. OUR COMPANY We are an integrated oil and gas company, […]
1,700 Petrotrin Workers to be Fired, Refinery Closed
(Trinidad Express, 28.Aug.2018) — It’s official. Petrotrin’s refinery is to close. And 2,600 workers will be impacted. The Petrotrin Board of Directors met Tuesday August 28 with its employee representative unions and the Company’s management to announce plans to end Petrotrin’s oil refining operations at Pointe-a-Pierre and to redesign entirely […]
PetroTrin Refinery to Close
(Trinidad Express, Ria Taitt, 28.Aug.2018) — The Government has decided to shut down the refinery of State oil company Petrotrin. The country can no longer afford to continue to refine oil and lose billions of dollars in this process, a senior Cabinet source told the Express yesterday. The company will […]
Trinidad Imports 40% of Oil from Russia
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 27.Aug.2018) —Trinidad and Tobago is relying on Russia as its main source of imported crude oil. Between January and June 2018, the small twin-island country imported over 15 million barrels of crude oil from the [Petrotrin] refinery. Of that, 40% of the crude oil imports […]
Venezuela Gas Price Deal Competitive—Khan
(Trinidad Guardian, 27.Aug.2018) — Government is giving no details on the pricing structure this country will pay for gas from the Dragon Field under the agreement signed with Venezuela on Saturday, but Energy Minister Franklin Khan is assuring that the pricing structure agreed to was competitive and followed “months of […]
Dragon Gas Deal May Be ‘Political Gimmicks’
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Richardson Dhalai, 26.Aug.2018) — The Dragon gas deal may be “public relations and political gimmicks” which may not benefit TT. That’s the view of Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee who, in a media release yesterday, cited the 2016 trade deal between TT and Venezuela saying some local […]
Five Things About T&T, Venezuela’s Dragon Gas Deal
(Loop News, 26.Aug.2018) — On August 25, 2018, an historic agreement was made between Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for access the Venezuela’s Dragon Field. Here are five things to know about the Dragon field gas deal: Dragon will produce 150 million cubic feet per […]
Trinidad Inks Gas Deal With Venezuela To Continue LNG Exports
(Bloomberg, Ryan Collins and Kelly Gilblom, 25.Aug.2018) — Trinidad and Tobago will continue to ship super-chilled natural gas all over the world, with a little help from Venezuela. President Nicolas Maduro and Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley signed a deal Saturday where Trinidad will purchase gas from Venezuela’s […]
Venezuela to Send Dragón Gas to Trinidad
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 25.Aug.2018) — Venezuela will send its Dragón field natural gas to Trinidad for processing. That’s according to a deal signed today in Caracas between the governments of Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, reported Venezuela’s Ministry of Petroleum in a series of tweets. The countries were […]
MEEI Updates on Status of Trinidad Energy Infrastructure
(MEEI, 24.Aug.2018) — The Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (MEEI) has been monitoring the impacts of the 6.9 magnitude earthquake which occurred on Tuesday 21st August, 2018 at 5:31 p.m. that reportedly caused some property damage across the country. Reports from the energy sector companies have, so far, indicated […]
Trinidad and Venezuela to Sign Gas Agreement
(CMC, 24.Aug.2018) — Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley will lead a delegation to Venezuela tomorrow to sign an agreement for the development of the across border gas from the Venezuelan Dragon Gas Field, according to an official statement issued here. The statement from the Office of the Prime Minister noted […]
BHP’s Bongos 2 Well Encounters Hydrocarbons
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 22.Aug.2018) – The well encountered hydrocarbons in Block TTDAA 14. Trinidad and Tobago’s former Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine revealed the details in a tweet. “I am encouraged by the results of the T&T deepwater campaign. Just received the news that BHP’s 4th well (Bongos 2) […]
Trinidad Energy Infrastructure Unaffected by Earthquake
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 22.Aug.2018) – Energy infrastructure on the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago appears to be OK after an earthquake yesterday in Venezuela. The August 21, 2018 earthquake hit the northern coast of Venezuela, and was felt in neighboring Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. “Buildings […]
Dragon Gas Deal Finalised Tomorrow
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Carla Bridglal, 21.Aug.2018) – After nearly two years of negotiations between this country and Venezuela the deal that will allow TT to process gas from the Dragon gas field is expected to be finalised tomorrow. A release from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) said […]
Magnitude 7.3 Quake in Venezuela Felt in Guyana
(Stabroek News, 21.Aug.2018) – A powerful earthquake has hit the northern coast of Venezuela with a magnitude of 7.3, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It had been originally reported as a 6.8 event but this has since been upgraded to 7.3. Reuters reported that the quake, which was centred […]
Major Petroleum Cos. Pay T&T $114.7 Bln during 2010-2016
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 20.Aug.2018) – Payments by major oil and gas companies to the government of the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago totaled $114.7 billion during 2010-2016. That’s according to figures posted by Strategic Energy Advisor Kevin Ramnarine, who is also the Former Energy Minster of Trinidad […]
Guyana to Become 5th Largest Oil Producer in LAC Region
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 15.Aug.2018) – If all goes off as planned, by 2025, Guyana will be the 5th largest oil producer in the Latin American and Caribbean region. That’s according to an analysis of data posted by Trading Economics, and extrapolation of estimates of Guyana’s future oil production, […]
$123.5b from Upstream from 2010 to 2016 — TTEITI
(Trinidad Express, Anthony Wilson, 15.Aug.2018) – Upstream energy companies operating in T&T paid $123.5 billion to the Government between 2010 and 2016, according to data compiled by the Trinidad and Tobago Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (TTEITI). The organisation provided the information in a written response to the Express Business editorial […]
Union, Petrotrin Deny Strike Rumours
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Yvonne Webb, 10.Aug.2018) – State-owned oil company Petrotrin said a message circulating on social media that the company is on strike is not true. The message which started circulating on WhatsApp and Facebook, from Tuesday evening, stated that Petrotrin is on strike and workers are blocking […]
Shell calls in a BIG RIG
(Trinidad Express, Aleem Khan, 7.Aug.2018) – More hints that major discovery on the horizon. Offshore Trinidad was one of two sites in the world where oil and gas service provider Rowan Companies plc debuted its ultra-harsh environment jack-up rigs, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) investors heard last week. The other […]
BPTT Helps Mayaro Students
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Jada Loutoo, 5.Aug.2018) – Some 25 students from across the south-eastern community of Mayaro are set to benefit from a revolutionary new developmental programme sponsored by energy company BP Trinidad and Tobago. Entitiled “Life-Skills, Entrepreneurship and Problem-Solving (LEAP)”, the two-week programme was launched at the Mayaro […]
BPTT Announces Angelin Arrival in Trinidad
(BPTT, 2.Aug.2018) – BP Trinidad and Tobago announced its Angelin platform has arrived in T&T. Angelin, which will be BPTT’s 15th offshore platform, was fabricated in Altamira, Mexico. The topside and jacket sailed from Altamira on June 30. Over the next few weeks they will be installed off the south […]
PetroTrin Refinery Importing Shortfall
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 31.Jul.2018) – That’s according to reports in a local newspaper. “The refinery at PetroTrin has a capacity of 140,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd); the company produces about 42,000 bopd – a shortfall of about 100,000 bopd, which must then be imported,” reported the […]
Hold It Right There, Petrotrin!
(The Sterling Report, Yanique Leiba-Ebanks, 29.Jul.2018) – Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd (affectionately known as Petrotrin) is the state-owned oil company in Trinidad and Tobago. Its crude oilfields are located across the south-western peninsula of Trinidad, off the east coast of Trinidad, and in Point Fortin. The country’s […]
Petrotrin Board, Union Disagree to Agree
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Carla Bridglal, 26.Jul.2018) – The board of Petrotrin has outlined a plan to reorganise and restructure the state oil company in a bid to make it more competitive and become a viable asset to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. The unions, including the most vocal […]
Atlantic Empowers Employees for Process Safety
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Carla Bridglal, 26.Jul.2018) – Atlantic CEO Dr Philip Mshelbila and BP’s vice president Group Process Safety Central Rob DiValerio have highlighted the central role of employees in the systems that protect natural gas plants from leaks and other failures. The two headlined the recently concluded seventh […]
BPTT Eyes Nine Potential New Developments Over 10 Years
(BPTT, 25.Jul.2018) – BP Trinidad and Tobago’s long-term plan could potentially see the company investing as much as $8 billion dollars in T&T, in 9 new developments in the next 10 years. This was announced by Claire Fitzpatrick, new BPTT president at a media event held at BPTT’s corporate offices […]
Trinidad’s 21st Century Gas Production
(Energy Analytics Institute, Jared Yamin, 23.Jul.2018) – It’s said a picture paints a thousand words. This one paints 8.9 billion. From 1908 to 2017, Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) has produced 8.9 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), announced Strategic Advisor Kevin Ramnarine in a post on LinkedIn. “Most of that […]
Atlantic Puts Focus on Process Safety
(Trinidad Guardian, 21.Jul.2018) – Atlantic CEO Dr Philip Mshelbila and Rob DiValerio, BP’s Vice President—Group Process Safety Central, have highlighted the central role of employees in the systems that protect natural gas plants from leaks and other failures. The two headlined the recently concluded 7th annual Process Safety Week, hosted […]
The $20 Billion Question for Guyana
(The New York Times, Clifford Krauss, 20.Jul.2018) – Guyana is a vast, watery wilderness with only three paved highways. There are a few dirt roads between villages that sit on stilts along rivers snaking through the rain forest. Children go to school in dugout canoes, and play naked in the […]
Why is NGC Still Litigating?
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Richardson Dhalai, 19.Jul.2018) – Former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, is questioning why the National Gas Company (NGC) is continuing legal action against SIS and Rainforest, after the Privy Council dismissed NGC’s appeal and ruled in favour of the two companies. Addressing a media conference […]
PetroTrin Achieves $85.6 Mln Profit
(Trinidad Guardian, 19.Jul.2018) – Petrotrin chairman Wilfred Espinet said cost reduction initiatives undertaken by the interim executive team installed at the energy company resulted in a second quarter profit after tax of $85.6 million. “The installation of a new executive team from the beginning of March and the implementation of […]
Lee: Thank UNC for BHP gas-fin
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Sean Douglas, 19.Jul.2018) – BHP Billiton’s new gas-find 200 kilometres off the Mayaro coast is due to tax-breaks for exploration given by the former UNC government, Opposition spokesman on energy, David Lee, said in a statement on Thursday. He attributed the find to the “innovation, tremendous […]
BHP Billiton Finds New Gas Offshore T&T
(Trinidad Express, Aleem Khan, 18.Jul.2018) – Australia’s BHP Billiton found new gas offshore Trinidad, the company confirmed in a statement yesterday. “In Trinidad and Tobago, following the gas discovery at LeClerc, we commenced Phase 2 of our deepwater exploration drilling campaign to further assess the commercial potential of the Magellan […]
Trinidad Takes 13 Days to Contain Leaking Well
(MEEI, 17.Jul.2018) — The Ministry of Energy & Energy Industries (MEEI) announced that Couva Marine 2 – the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Paria – was successfully brought under control at 12:00 noon today. The shut – in well developed a leak on July 4, 2018 and had […]
NGC loses SIS challenge in Privy Council
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, 16.Jul.2018) – State-owned National Gas Company has lost an appeal in its multi-million claim against Super Industrial Services (SIS) and another company as the Privy Council today dismissed an appeal in which it challenged a decision to strike out its lawsuit on the ground that it […]
FDI in LAC Region Falls for Third Straight Year
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 12.Jul.2018) – Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Latin America and the Caribbean fell for a third straight year in 2017, reported the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean or CEPAL by its Spanish acronym. The details were revealed in CEPAL’s annual report titled […]
Trinidad Seeks Assistance In Leak Cleanup
(LoopTT, 9.Jul.2018) – Cleanup operations continue following a leak at the Couva Marine 2 Well. Personnel with the Energy Ministry and Petrotrin’s Incident Command team have been monitoring the leaking wellhead and assessing the nature and impact of the hydrocarbon emissions. The leak, which was initially reported last Wednesday, is […]
Trinidad Seeks Help As Oil Well Ruptures
(Prensa Latina, 9.Jul.2018) – A fuel leak in the Couva platform, in the Gulf of Paria, Trinidad and Tobago, continues today after four days of being initiated, before which the government requests international assistance. Since last Thursday, the well has been pouring hydrocarbons in this area, shared with Venezuela, which […]
First T&T Jack Up Delivers Gas
(Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Sasha Harrinanan, 4.Jul.2018) – Well Services Rig 110, owned by local drilling contractor Well Services Petroleum Co Ltd (Well Services), is the first local jack up rig to be used for a natural gas campaign in TT waters. Well Services announced yesterday it had drilled and […]
T&T’s Energy Issues
(Trinidad Express, David Renwick, 3.Jul.2018) – You don’t have to look very far to determine the issues facing the Trinidad and Tobago energy industry at the moment. Top of the list would be restoring crude oil production, which languishes at around 72,000 barrels a day (b/d) at the moment. That […]