Energy expert says rethink industrial growth
The Trinidad Guardian
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
01 07 07
An
energy consultant is urging government to rethink
its pace of industrialisation in light of the recent
bid-round debacle and the decision to discontinue
plans to construct an industrial estate at Chatham.
Anthony
Paul, who once worked for the Ministry of Energy
and bpTT before becoming one of the country’s
leading energy consultants, said there were three
main issues confronting government all of which
suggest the need to “sit back and carefully
consider the pace of industrialisation.”
He
said last year was a crucial year for government’s
industrial expansion plans since the Chatham protests
and the eventual capitulation of the government
showed that people are far more aware of environmental
issues and more sensitised to the management of
the country’s reserves.
Making
it clear that he was one of those who support the
continued extraction of the country’s oil
and gas reserves “in a manageable and orderly
way,” Paul said the present reserve-to-production
ratio showed that the present gas reserves will
run out during the lifetime of the plants presently
operating in Trinidad and Tobago.
He
said, “The question is, do we have the reserves
to support the rate of industrial expansion and
the answer was always yes because we are exploring.
Now we have to ask what is the state of the exploration
programme in terms of the failure of the latest
bid rounds?”
Last
year government put out eight blocks in deep waters
off the East Coast while at the same time offering
eleven blocks in shallow water and onland for oil
and gas companies to bid on the right to explore
and produce those blocks.
However,
only one of the eight Atlantic deep blocks attracted
a bidder and even though there were bids for the
nearshore and onshore blocks, most of the world’s
major oil companies stayed away.
“We
need to have a rethink of the pace of industrialisation
especially with the failure of the bid round”
Paul explained.
The
energy consultant said he did not doubt that there
was more oil and gas to be found but that the pace
of exploration was crucial.
He
said while it was encouraging that this year will
see exploration in several gas-prone blocks the
real issue is how, as a country, we can have sustained
exploration activity.
Paul
said, “We don’t expect everyone will
hit (find oil or gas) but the more exploration we
have, the greater the chance of finding more oil
and gas.”
Paul
point out that any further industrial expansion
will have to be premised on “undiscovered
resources”.
The
energy consultant said he was also concerned about
the country’s ability to manage the pace of
industrialisation.
He
said, “We have a shortage of professionals
to manage the pace of industrialisation properly
and to regulate industry in the process ensuring
that they are reporting properly. I feel the government’s
resources are overwhelmed and there is a manpower
constraint.”
Paul
said the capacity in the State sector, particularly
in the ministries of Finance and Energy, need to
be built up and focused.
He
argued, “The recent bid round is an example
of the lack of sufficient resources in the ministry
to deal with major issues.
There
are some very good people in the Ministry of Energy
but there are some ordinary people as well and in
many cases there is just simply not enough manpower
and so people are stretched. The bid round is a
perfect example of this. We have to ensure that
we build capacity.” Paul insisted.
(Curtis
Williams)
The
question is, do we have the reserves to support
the rate of industrial expansion and the answer
was always yes because we are exploring. Now we
have to ask what is the state of the exploration
programme in terms of the failure of the latest
bid rounds?”
The
Trinidad Guardian
Thursday 4th Janurary, 2007
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Trinidad Publishing Company Limited.
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