San
Fernando mayor sees bright energy future
By Yvonne Webb
The Trinidad Guardian
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
11 26 06
In
1995 Kenneth Ferguson chucked his job as a platform
superintendent with Amoco (now bpTT). With ten employees,
he started a small service company in the oil and
gas sector under his Alice Street home in La Romaine.
He
was regarded as a mad man by his wife, family and
friends who cautioned him about tangling with the
big fish.
Today,
11 years later, the gamble has paid off.
The
small family business has evolved into the Kenson
Group of Companies with 346 people in its employ.
Involved
in the operation and maintenance of offshore and
onshore production facilities, Kenson now boasts
of clients like EOG Resources, bpTT (formerly Amoco),
BGTT, BHP, Repsol, NGC and Petrotrin.
Its
core business also involves valve service and repairs,
oil and gas measurement, fire and gas measurement,
fire and gas detection system and oil waste removal
for remediation.
To
combat the shortage of skilled technical labour,
the group has also set up the Kenson School of Production
Technology.
Last
Tuesday November 14, Ferguson, now the Mayor of
San Fernando, opened Kenson Group of Companies new
state-of-the-art administration building at Lady
Hailes Avenue, San Fernando.
On
hand to commission the new headquarters was Prime
Minister Patrick Manning.
Manning
viewed the strides made by this company as an expression
of their confidence in the energy sector and the
development of the economy of T&T.
“You
may ask yourself why Kenson and so many others have
decided to express confidence. What is it they see
that others may not be seeing?” Manning asked
as he spoke about fears expressed about declining
reserves.
“Kenson
is involved in the service of our oil and gas industry.
They know that the oil production today is about
150,000 bpd with gas production to be 4.2 billion
cubic feet.
“They,
of course, have taken note of the Government’s
stated intention to balance revenue from oil and
gas and therefore to take steps to stimulate oil
production so that it can make an increased contribution
to the revenue position in the first of a tremendous
expansion in gas production that is taking place
at the basis of the industrialisation programme
on which we are embarked.
“You
will recognise that to do that oil production must
come up to 250,000 to 300,000 barrels per day from
the current 150,000 and recognise that the Government
has already taken steps to achieve that by way of
new tax regime that is in place and the response
to that tax regime that is already evident from
the oil producing companies in the country.”
While
alluding to talk about the decline in production
and wasting assets, Manning made reference to BHP
Billiton’s east coast discovery, saying there
are still large acreage left for exploration.
“When
we express the view that oil production and gas
production are not about to run out, such a view
is not expressed on basis of emotion but such a
view is being expressed on our understanding of
the industry and the experience that we now have,
T&T having been in oil production since 1866,
is we are by no means green in this matter.”
The
Trinidad Guardian
Thursday 23rd November 2006
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©2006 The Trinidad Guardian. All Rights Reserved.
