Manning: TT on verge of energy revolution

PRIME MINISTER Patrick Manning yesterday revealed that Trinidad and Tobago was on the verge of yet another major natural gas discovery and a new era in onshore oil production. Addressing a breakfast meeting at Kampo Restaurant in Chaguanas yesterday, the Prime Minister said, “Two large oil companies in Trinidad have indicated to the Government they have jointly decided to drill a well off the east coast of Trinidad to test one of the largest structures that we have seen. “The structure is so large they anticipate that if a discovery is made, a discovery of natural gas as anticipated, it should concur somewhere between 2.5 and 6 trillion cubic ft (tcf) of natural gas. Look at that in relation to the current proven, possible and probable reserves of 35.2 tcf. Both companies came to their conclusions independently of each other.

“Both companies are of the view that the acreage involved is extremely prospective, lying as it does, below existing oil and gas, and it will constitute the deepest well ever to be drilled in TT at a target depth of 22,000 ft and at a cost of US$40 million.” That well will be drilled in the second quarter of 2005. Manning said 3D seismic surveys at bpTT’s Hive facility in Trinidad, indicate “there is a lot more acreage to be explored and there is therefore the possibility, since we are existing in an oil province, that there will be significantly more oil and gas discoveries. “The Orinoco Basin in which TT is located, may contain somewhere between 70 and 100 tcf of gas. There is a significant amount of oil and gas yet to be discovered in TT and the question of oil and gas running out in the near future, is a question that need not detain us. The resources are there,” he declared.

The Prime Minister said BHP Billiton’s east coast offshore operations will produce 70,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) when they come on stream in mid-2005, and this will boost TT’s total oil production to 200,000 bopd. Manning also said Government approved a proposal for Petrotrin to hand back an estimated 316,000 of its land acreage to the State “and we will invite proposals from international companies — and many companies are already showing an interest — for a 3D seismic survey over the entire basin.” Saying this survey will cost US$250 million, the Prime Minister stated, “We confidently anticipate we will be able to put the consortium together that will be able to do this. We are therefore seeing before us, a whole new era of exploration for oil production on land in TT. That is the outlook for oil.” Manning said these developments were significant because TT was important as a supplier of oil to the US east coast and to Caricom.