Repsol divesting LNG assets

In his contribution to debate on the Finance Bill 2013 of the Senate on Wednesday Ramnarine said Repsol has shareholdings of “around 20 percent” in each of Atlantic’s four LNG trains. Identifying Chinese company Sinopec and Shell as two potential bidders for these assets, Ramnarine boasted, “These are very interesting times and companies like that, showing that interest in Atlantic, clearly sends a signal that there is confidence in TT.”

Formerly known as Atlantic LNG, Atlantic is owned by the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC Trinidad and Tobago) and local subsidiaries of BP, BG Group, Repsol YPF and Suez. The stakes in Train 1 are: BP Trinidad LNG BV (34 percent); British Gas Trinidad LNG (26 percent); Repsol LNG Port Spain BV (20 percent); NGC (ten percent) and Suez LNG Finance SA ( ten percent).

The stakes in Trains 2 and 3 are: BP Trinidad LNG BV (42.5 percent); British Gas Global Investments BV (32.5 percent) and Repsol Overzee Financien BV (25 percent). The stakes in Train 4 are: BP (Barbados) Holding SRL (37.8 percent); British Gas Trinidad LNG Limited (28.9 percent) NGC LNG (Train 4) Limited (11.1 percent) and Repsol Overzee Financien BV (22.2 percent). When news first broke last year of Repsol reviewing its assets in the wake of the appropriation of its YPF assets in Argentina, Ramnarine said Government would consider whether it would acquire Repsol’s shareholdings in Atlantic’s four LNG trains either through the NGC.

Ramnarine also said an audit of the country’s oil reserves will soon be made public, 60 wells in Trinmar’s Southwest Soldado field will be reactivated next month and through the development of the Galeota port in southeast Trinidad, “Galeota can become a city.” He added Petrotrin’s gasoline optimisation project will be finished this year and attributed its delay to “poor procurement practices” which began in 2006.