Energy
Ministry insists: T&T has 20-year
gas supply
Trinidad Guardian
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
05 06 07
Trinidad and Tobago has enough natural gas to
satisfy domestic demand and meet the needs of all
currently operating and approved projects for the
next 20 years, the Ministry of Energy and Energy
Industries said yesterday.
The
ministry moved to set the record straight in
a newspaper advertisement following increasing
expressions of doubt about the country’s
gas reserves.
The
Energy ministry said in its advertisement, that, “Recent
statements in the press purporting to suggest
that natural gas supplies will be exhausted
by 2016 and that the pursuance of the cross border
agreement is a means of mitigating this are erroneous.”
In a full page advertisement yesterday, the Ministry
said that at January 1, 2005 proven gas reserves
were 18.774 trillion cubic feet (tcf), probable
9.028 tcf and possible 7.066 tcf and a current
update was being done. Consultant firm Ryder Scott
is in the process of finalising an audit of petroleum
reserves at the end of 2006.
The Ministry noted that the National Gas Company
(NGC) has signed contracts with three gas producers-
bhp billiton, EOG Resources and BG Trinidad and
Tobago for the supply of 560 million standard cubic
feet of gas a day beginning in 2009. The terms
of the supply, which will be used to meet existing
project commitments, vary from 12 to 15 years and
are linked to the existing life of the relevant
Production Sharing Contracts.
According
to the advertisement, the gas reserve position
means that T&T “is able to sustain
all currently operating and approved new projects
for their 20-year life and also to meet our domestic
demand.”
The advertisement explained that to beef up its
reserve bank for new industrial activity, there
are plans to drill 11 exploratory wells which include
two onshore wells, priced at US$234 million, that
will be drilled this year and six exploratory wells
at a cost of US$164 million.
In addition, the ministry is now evaluating proposals
for 11 onshore, nearshore and shallow marine blocks
and eight blocks in the deep Atlantic. Of eight
proposals for its onshore, nearshore and shallow
marine blocks, four did not meet the criteria and
four others have been selected to enter into negotiations
with the Government. No bids were received for
three blocks.
Trinidad
Guardian
Saturday 5th May, 2007
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©2007 Trinidad Guardian. All Rights Reserved.
