T&T,
BG to study Natural gas future
By Asha Javeed
The Trinidad Guardian
Port Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
03 25 07
British
Gas (BG) yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding
with Government for a joint study to determine the
way forward for a new export train of Liquefied
Natural gas (LNG).
The
18-month study will be headed by BG chief of staff
Derek Hudson, and will be conducted in Houston and
T&T. The first meeting with the ministry is
set for next week at which the parties will set
up guidelines for the establishment of the project
panel and the working groups.
Hudson
said the governance structure of “Train X”,
the further development of the LNG industry, will
evolve as part of the study. He said the team, made
up of BG and Ministry of Energy officials, will
operate “like starting with an open book.”
The
intent of the study is to open up new possibilities
for T&T’s gas to reach markets.
On
Wednesday, Prime Minister Patrick Manning noted
that the first unitisation agreement in the Western
Hemisphere was signed between T&T and Venezuela
on Tuesday night following talks in Caracas between
himself and Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. He
said the agreement was the outcome of a Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2003.
Manning
said the gas that will be produced from the Loran
Manatee field will form the basis of a new LNG Train
X and the field, which has reserves of 10 trillion
cubic feet, will provide an opportunity for Jamaica
to receive Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
We
wish to be seen differently to other players—in
that we are thinking strongly to understand the
local agenda and we are trying to align with them,”
said Frank Chapman, BG chief executive.
He
noted that the company had just signed a Heads of
Agreement with the National Gas Company (NGC) to
commit a further 1.2 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of
gas to the local market which would mark their third
billion dollars of investment here.
He
noted that BG was in a strong position to facilitate
Government access and the agreement would address
how BG and Government would work together to aggregate
demand and conversely, aggregate supply.
Our
ambition in this study is to demonstrate how these
arrangements work and to look at new and more effective
ways of accessing markets and also joining participation
between industry and government in those new arrangements,”
said Chapman.
Acting
Energy Minister, Penelope Beckles, noted that BG’s
proposal for the development of another LNG Train
came closet to the Government’s objectives
because it addressed participation along the length
of the LNG value chain.
“This
project will require significant investment in terms
of finance, business expertise and market knowledge.
The Government is therefore open to proposals from
other interested parties who may which to participate
in this venture once a business decision has been
made,” she said.
As
we contemplate this additional train, we expect
to duplicate the successes of the past. What’s
more, as we venture into new areas of business along
the LNG value train that take us even closer to
the final consumer, we expect to gain even greater
returns from the industry as well as expand the
level of expertise of our nationals in the global
LNG business,” she added.
Trinidad
Guardian
Friday 23rd March, 2007
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©2007 Trinidad Guardian. All Rights Reserved.
