Watch gas reserves
TT Newsday
Port Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
02 18 07
FORMER
junior energy minister Bill Chaitan yesterday advised
Government against committing itself heavily to
any mega-industrial projects until it has the audited
results of the country’s petroleum reserves
for 2006.
Chaitan
said he had offered this advice to former prime
minister Basdeo Panday and this was why the former
government did not implement an agreement it signed
in November 1998 with Norsk Hydro to build an aluminium
smelter.
On
Monday, Energy Minister Dr Lenny Saith said consultants
Ryder Scott were finalising an audit of the country’s
petroleum reserves. Saith said Government expected
to announce the results of this audit in the third
quarter of this year. Saith outlined new drilling
and exploration activities planned for this year
and 2008. The minister also said the National Gas
Company has concluded talks with bhp Billiton, British
Gas and EOG Resources for the supply of 560 standard
cubic feet of gas per day over the period 2009 to
2010.
While
he did not discount the possibility of new oil and
gas reserves being discovered, Chaitan said Government
needed to be careful about what kinds of industries
it commits existing natural reserves to.
Chaitan
said in 1998, he advised Panday not to proceed until
a survey was done of the gas reserves. Chaitan said
the survey was completed and resulted in a gas master
plan which was implemented in September 2001, three
months before that year’s general elections.
The former minister said he has no idea what became
of that plan since the PNM took office in December
2001.
While
he could not recall the quantum of known reserves
or gas usage at that time, Chaitan said the information
available to the former government suggested that
prudent use be made of the reserves.
Saying
an audit should be done every three years, Chaitan
said he was uncertain what was the recoverability
factor of the gas reserves. Internationally, Chaitan
claimed gas reserves were 70 to 75 percent recoverable.
Chaitan
said the one thing which he may agree with Prime
Minister Patrick Manning about is the complex geological
nature of the Columbus Basin and the possibility
of additional, untapped energy reserves there. However,
new discoveries aside, Chaitan said Government needed
tangible data before it decides what its industrialisation
policies should be. He added that Government should
bring those policies to “a total halt”
and re-think them, if the audit shows the reserves
were in an unfavourable position.
Trinidad
& Tobago NewsDay
Thursday,
February 8 2007
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©2006 Trinidad & Tobago NewsDay. All Rights
Reserved.
