$4.5M research grant for UTT

The research projects are the Management of Carbon Emissions, Major Greenhouse Gases and Carbon Dioxide and Heavy Oil Production.

Karim praised the initiative during the signing of contracts between the two entities earlier this week at the Tertiary Education Ministry, International Waterfront Centre, Port-of-Spain.

“Such a resuscitation of crude oil production is needed as production rates have largely declined in recent years. The recovery of heavy oil can play a significant role in this rejuvenation. Although the country’s petroleum activities date more than 100 years, much of its recoverable reserves still lie under the ground in the form of heavy oil.

“This situation is not peculiar to Trinidad and Tobago as oil from conventional sources are on the decline worldwide. Unconventional crude which includes heavy oil, extra heavy oil and tar sands increasingly occupy the greater share of the global pie. While heavy oil is being monetised in TT to some extent, the full potential of this resource is unknown because it has not been fully measured,” Karim said.

He added that an up-to-date inventory will form part of the proposed study and would provide vital statistics for national planning.

Once quantified, Karim said researchers from the UTT would focus their efforts in investigating some of the most effective ways of extracting these reserves which would add economic value to Trinidad and Tobago, and technical expertise to the local industry.

He said the newly launched UTT School of Business will also be used as a vehicle to engage in the diversification of the economy.

“Our other major economic challenge is to proceed with the parallel diversification of our economy, building on our native strengths and competitive advantages.

“In this regard, we recognise education and more particularly targeted skills training, research and tertiary level expertise, represents the most powerful tool for national development. The Ministry of Tertiary Education and Skills Training is extremely proud that UTT is rising to the challenge of sustainable economic diversification.”

The UTT as the national entrepreneurial university, Karim said, will be playing a large part in the national diversification plan and will focus on seven sectors that will seek to transform our economy.

These areas would be the Energy and Energy Services, Financial Services, Maritime Industries, Culture and Creative Industries, Information Communication Technology, Tourism and Food Sustainability.

The minister thanked Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine for his efforts in securing and promoting for this research intiative and recognising the efforts of the UTT.

Also in attendance at the signing were Tertiary Education Ministry Permanent Secretary Amroodeen Ali, Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Selwyn Lashley, Professor Dyer Narinesingh, UTT President and David Alexander, Assistant Professor, Energy Systems and Petroluem at UTT.