bp boss: TT LNG story far from over

This year’s theme was Unleash Your Potential - Embracing Opportunities for Business Growth.

Saying dreamers often see and envision a world ahead of their time, Christie told ECA members that from his own experience, “the greatest examples of potential being unleashed were almost always coupled with what’s popularly called a BHAG, or big, hairy, audacious goal.” Recalling the time he spent working in Egypt at the start of their gas business in the Nile Delta back in the 1990s, he said that country’s dreams included LNG trains, a cross-Mediterranean pipeline, a pipeline to Israel and a large domestic gas business.

“As is often the case with big dreams, not everything has worked as envisioned but I look at recent reports from Egypt and the LNG business and large domestic business are a reality. And, with a recent giant gas discovery of approximately 30 tcf (trillion cubic feet), I wouldn’t bet against the other elements of the dream coming to fruition.” “Closer to home, while I was not here at the start of the LNG business I had a close association because of the role I held in Chicago at the time. The story here also has a familiar ring. While we currently are concerned with natural gas supply shortfalls, we shouldn’t forget that the dreams decades ago resulted in one of the largest LNG complexes in this hemisphere. Further, I am convinced that the story is far from over.” On the balance between risk and reward, Christie said, “Once the values boundaries are not violated, we have to be prepared to take risks.” Giving the audience some insight into how this plays out in the oil and gas world, he said, “In my business, we frequently invest over US$100 million on on exploration well, with a chance of success that is often far less than 50 percent. In fact, bpTT is doing that right now with two exploration wells being drilled off the east coast of Trinidad.” Christie added that when one is taking such risks, you understand that wise risk taking utilises appropriate expertise while in a business setting, you learn to appreciate true talent. “This is the second important point,” he told the ECA audience. “When taking wise risks, consider your advisers. In a business setting, you must consider the talent you surround yourself with to instruct the risks you take.” Examining the importance of continuous learning, Christie used the example of this country’s petrochemicals industry.

“In my view, Trinidad and Tobago (TT) has great stories about dreaming big, taking risks and continuously learning. The petrochemicals industry in Point Lisas us a great case study in unleashing potential and growth. By dreaming big and taking risks, TT has, for decades, punched its way above its weight as the largest exporter of traded methanol and ammonia.” Linking the theme of his speech to ongoing negotiations with the National Gas Company (NGC) for a new gas sales contract; which expires at the end of 2028, Christie said “Throughout these negotiations, we have been reminded of how visionary the political and business leaders were who established Pt Lisas, and the risks they took when natural gas was viewed as a nuisance, associated product, of oil.” “What is equally important though, is to see how NGC has continued to learn in the face of a fast-changing energy world. In fact, in the negotiations,” Christie shared, “they repeatedly acknowledged that what got them in here is not going to keep them successful in the future. This kind of learning will unleash potential.”