Gas reserves sound?

Whether Trinidad and Tobago has enough gas and oil reserves to last for another 20 or 50 years, what is increasingly apparent is that there is the need for Government to structure a policy which will link the annual production of oil and natural gas to known reserves. This will mean a rethink of Government’s laissez-faire policy with respect to investment specifically in the hydrocarbon industry in which it has traditionally abstained from imposing and/or suggesting guidelines for restraint on the production of crude and natural gas.

Doubts were expressed recently by the President of the South Trinidad Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Jim Lee Young, with respect to Trinidad and Tobago’s reserves of natural gas. And although these doubts were cleared up by Atlantic LNG Chairman, John Andrews, when he pointed out that the country’s proven reserves of natural gas were 23 trillion cubic feet, and along with its probable and possible reserves of 12 trillion cubic feet were enough to last for another 20 years, nonetheless the time is long overdue for Government to institute a policy of hydrocarbon production restraint.  Andrews had added that there was the possibility of an additional 65 trillion cubic feet of exploration potential. Admittedly, the potential for there being an additional 185 per cent is welcome news, but as welcome as this we believe that Government should formulate a policy of limiting the production of natural gas basing it on proven reserves long before the question becomes irrelevant. And as we emphasised earlier, the same should hold for crude.

Should the additional 185 per cent of natural gas move from exploration potential to proven reserves this would mean that at the present projected rate of production the gas should last for something in the order of another 37 years or a total of 57 years. But the demand for hydrocarbons has never been a constant, and there is certain to be increased demand for this country’s liquefied natural gas which today accounts for approximately 68 per cent of the United States market. Undoubtedly, cross border production of natural gas will help in meeting increased demand. Nonetheless, Atlantic LNG, along with other large users of our natural gas will seek to optimise levels of production, and understandably so, unless there is a policy in place of limiting the amount of natural gas which can be produced in any given year. The need to look ahead, and carefully, has never hurt, but too rapid a production of this country’s hydrocarbons may.