Opinion
- Editorial- Commentary
STCIC:
Marking 100 years of oil in T&T
One
hundred years ago this month, events were unfolding
in the forest of Guapo that would permanently
alter the social and economic landscape of T&T.
The start of commercial oil production in December
1907 can arguably qualify as the most significant
event in the economic history of T&T. Unfortunately,
apart from a few comments at conferences it seems
to be an event that may pass us by largely unnoticed.
In
the past 100 years, oil and natural gas have
been integral to the evolution of modern T&T.
The local oil and gas industry has been a central
actor in T&T’s role in World Wars I and
II, the Butler Riots of 1937 and the oil boom of
the 1970s and the current period of economic expansion
that we are experiencing.
The
history of oil exploration in T&T stretches
back to the mid-19 century and the work of early
pioneers like the Merrimac Company (1857), Walter
Darwent (1865) and Rust and Lee Lum (1901-1905).
These efforts at exploration span the period 1857
to the middle of the first decade of the 20th century.
While the efforts of Darwent, Rust and Lee Lum
were successful in finding oil, they encountered
a range of problems such as difficulties in transporting
heavy equipment to remote locations, poor infrastructure
and the incidence of malaria.
Higgins’ History of Trinidad Oil credits
Arthur Beeby Thompson as the person responsible
for drilling the first successful commercial oil
well in Trinidad and places the event sometime
in December 1907. This is corroborated by Beeby
Thompson’s own account of his experiences
in Trinidad that are eloquently documented in his
book, Oil Pioneer.
Arthur Beeby Thompson and Commercial Oil in Trinidad
1906 to 1908
Arthur
Beeby Thompson can be considered the pioneer
of commercial oil production in T&T. He had
earlier gained his experience mainly in the Russian
oilfields and first visited Trinidad in 1904, where
he met Randolph Rust and Craig Cunningham, the
government geologist.
His meetings with Rust and Cunningham convinced
him that Trinidad and not Barbados was a better
prospect for oil exploration. This led to his first
professional visit to Trinidad in 1906 on behalf
of a London Syndicate headed by Coorbett Woodall.
At
the start of his work in Trinidad, Thompson visited
the Pitch Lake in La Brea, the Vistabella
Manjack Mine and the mud volcano’s at the
Devil’s Woodyard. He also visited Guayaguayare
upon the invitation of Randolph Rust at which site
Rust and Lee Lum had earlier discovered oil but
the venture had proven commercially unsuccessful.
Beeby
Thompson’s excursions around south
Trinidad eventually led him to Guapo. He settled
on Guapo as the site of his exploration effort
for logistical reasons as it was accessible and
was close to the sea which made export a possibility.
Beeby
Thompson writes in Oil Pioneer that preparations
for drilling started in January 1907 at the site
in Guapo. The efforts throughout 1907 were hampered
by malaria and even attacks by vampire bats. Drilling
actually commenced in May 1907. At the end of that
year Beeby Thompson writes of the“striking
of flowing oil in a rich sand at 700 feet.”
His
memoirs go on to note: “News of the
oil strike at Guapo attracted considerable attention
both locally and in oil circles at home (England),
so that many visitors arrived to view the spectacle
of oil gushing from a well that proved to be the
forerunner of a number which entered production
within the shallow depth of 1,400 feet.”
This
discovery is reflected in the Report of the Inspector
of Mines of T&T, John Cadman for
1908 which states that: Borings for oil, with what
is looked upon as successful results, have been
conducted by the New Trinidad Lake Asphalt Company
Limited, at La Brea, and the Trinidad Petroleum
Company limited at Guapo, and an aggregate of 3758
feet if borings have been made.
The
Report of the Inspector of Mines for 1906 had
expressed optimism for oil discoveries based
on “surface indications” which one
can assume refers to natural oil seeps, oil sands
and the Pitch Lake.
The government analyst at the time, Professor
P Carmody, analysed a sample of the oil obtained
from one of the wells at Guapo. Carmody reported
that the oil had a specific gravity of 0.938.
This
specific gravity translates to an API Gravity
of 19.3° making this heavy oil by today’s
standards. These accounts are further corroborated
by the fact that the first year for which the Ministry
of Energy has records of oil production is 1908.
Industrialisation and geopolitic of the early
20th century
The start of commercial oil production in Trinidad
in 1907-1908 must also be understood against the
context of what was happening in the world at the
time.
The beginning of the twentieth century marked
the beginning of mass production of the automobile
and widespread use of electricity in the US and
Western Europe. Kerosene, a by product of the refining
process, had earlier found use for lighting of
lamps.
At
the time of T&T’s first commercial
oil (1907-1908), global oil production was confined
to the US and Russia which together accounted for
89 per cent world oil production. The other 11
per cent of world oil production came from Romania,
Galaicia (now Austria) and the East Indies. Oil
production from T&T must have, therefore, been
an exciting prospect for business interests in
London who would have been eager to secure supplies.
The events that were taking place in the forest
of Guapo would also have geopolitical significance.
Beeby Thompson writes that the meeting to reach
an agreement on exploration rights at Guapo was
attended by representatives of the Admiralty. The
then First Sea Lord Admiral John Fisher had earlier
set about to modernise the Royal Navy and this
included conversion from coal to oil.
In
1911 when Winston Churchill became the First
Lord of the Admiralty he was heavily influenced
by Admiral Fisher and oversaw the full conversion
of the Royal Navy’s fuel source from coal
to oil. The conversion of the Royal Navy from coal
power to oil power meant that supplies of oil had
to be secured within the British Empire.
The
commencement of commercial oil production in
T&T, therefore, meant oil production on “British
soil” which was a secure source of fuel for
the Royal Navy. These developments would have been
made all the more exciting with the ongoing work
in Panama on the Panama Canal which would link
sea traffic in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
The
importance of the events of 1907-1908 cannot
be understated and have earned a significant
place
in the history of T&T. Any understanding of
where the oil and gas industry in T&T is today
should be premised on the history of an industry
which seems to be surprisingly under-researched,
given its huge significance to the country and
south Trinidad in particular.
In recognition of the significance of 100 years
of commercial oil production, one of the projects
undertaken by the STCIC in 2007 was the compilation
of an annotated bibliography of the impact of onshore
oil production on the environment in south Trinidad.
This
project was funded by bpTT and Petrotrin and
was launched at the STCIC’s annual Christmas
lime last Tuesday.
Further details on the bibliography can be obtained
from the STCIC Web site at www.stcic.org
STCIC is
Trinidad's South Chamber of Commerce and Industry.Petroleumworld
not necessarily share these views.
Editor's
Note: This article was first publish in
Trinidad Guardian,Thursday 13th December,
2007 . Petroleumworld reprint this article in the
interest
of our readers.
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12/ 16/07
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