Manning
in Latin talks for new refinery
By Roxanne Stapleton
Trinidad Express
Port Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
03 25 07
PRIME MINISTER Patrick Manning has proposed to two
South American countries that they partner with
Trinidad and Tobago to build a new 250,000 barrel
per day refinery in Trinidad.
Speaking
yesterday at the second instalment of the BG Trinidad
and Tobago Energy Luncheon Series at the Hilton,
Port of Spain, Manning said he made the proposal
to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday and
to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
two weeks ago during the 19th summit of the Rio
Group in Guyana.
This
country's lone refinery, Petrotrin, which is located
at Pointe-a-Pierre, is currently being upgraded
to the tune of US$850 million.
"We
will seek to attract to Trinidad and Tobago a second
refinery of about 250,000 barrels per day capacity,
which will also have the capacity to treat with
the crude oil coming out of the current refinery
in Pointe-a-Pierre.
"When
I spoke to the President of Brazil in Guyana two
weeks ago, we discussed this matter and, in fact,
a Brazilian mission has already come here in pursuance
of that and other issues.
"Yesterday,
the proposal was put to the Government of Venezuela
to partner with us to construct here a 250,000 barrel
a day refinery, among other things," Manning
said.
Meanwhile,
of his meeting with Chavez on Tuesday in Venezuela,
Manning said that a comprehensive memorandum of
understanding has been advanced with the Venezuelans,
for collaboration between Venezuela and Trinidad
and Tobago in energy development.
"We
have agreed to study it and President Chavez has
agreed to come to Trinidad about mid-April to sign
whatever arises out of technical discussions that
will follow that MOU.
"At
the same time, we have been invited to attend a
gas forum that Venezuela is convening in Margarita
around April 16 and 17, which we will attend,"
he added.
Manning
said that the two states now have to agree on the
unitisation of intermediary fields (straddling our
borders) and use of those reserves, beginning with
Loran-Manatee, which has reserves of about 10 trillion
cubic feet.
"This
is the particular field in respect of which we felt
there was an opportunity for Jamaica to get LNG
and specific proposal of the Government of Trinidad
and Tobago, Loran-Manatee be developed, gas and
produced in Trinidad and Tobago and form the basis
of a new LNG train, Train X, ensuring that Jamaica
is able to get 160 million cubic feet per day out
of that train, as is their requirement for expansion
of their aluminium manufacturing facilities, which
incidentally some of which will be exported to Trinidad
for utilisation in a smelter by the company Alcoa,"
Manning said.
He
also spoke of the this country's changing status
as dominant energy supplier to the region, given
the existence of the PetroCaribe agreement.
Manning
said that since a number of countries in the region
have signed unique arrangements with Venezuela which
threaten to displace Trinidad and Tobago as the
dominant supplier of petroleum products to the region,
it can no longer accept responsibility for guaranteeing
energy security for the region.
Trinidad
Express
Thursday, March 22nd 2007
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