Raising the bar and restless for more

Craig McKenzie, President,  British Gas, Trinidad and Tobago, says one of the goals of the company is to find more gas to meet the growing US demand. “We are not trying to be greedy. We are just looking after our own interests,” he said. He said BG TT was looking at one billion cubic feet of gas per day when LNG Train four is up and running.  “That speaks to the scale at which we are growing,” he said. The company started operations in TT in 1989, tapping the Dolphin Field off the east coast. “There is a nice mix of a ready market, and if we find more gas, then we would be satisfied with that,” he said. Just how much more gas? About three trillion cubic feet, he said. On drilling deeper to find more gas, the BG boss said he did not have a problem with that.

“If bidding rounds start at deeper water, we’ll be in that mix as well,” he said. Noting that production was right now up to about 700m cubic feet per day and supplying gas to the three LNG trains, McKenzie said, “We are raising the bar and restless for more.” Speaking at the luncheon hosted by British Caribbean Chamber of Commerce at the Hilton last week, McKenzie outlined his plans for BG TT and what it meant for this country. On BG’s goals, he stressed that the company made a binding commitment with the Government to the year 20-20 to buy the gas and sell it. Of the 80% of the gas exported to the US, BG supplies 53% of this, he said. Such a contract was virtually unheard off in the global scheme of things, he said, noting that BG had bitten the bullet.

He said while there was always pressure to increase profits and production quarter after quarter, BG’s goal creating business for the long-term and keeping it sustainable. “It is not a business for the faint of heart,” he told his audience. He also predicted that for BG TT, 2005 will be their busiest year yet : the company is looking at drilling seven more wells as part of its exploration and development programme. He described their exploratory efforts as “bullish.” McKenzie also talked about spearheading local content, noting that BG wanted to dovetail its objectives into Government’s agenda. Less than 10 percent of their local staff is made up off “expats”, he said.  “We stand ready to help the Government,” he said of the Government’s attempts to get more involved in the energy sector. He said he wanted contractors up to international standards and hoped to do this by transferring more skills and technology to them.