'Govt
should review tax regime'
Port Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
12 09 07
With
the energy sector facing many important "challenges",
bpTT chairman and chief executive officer Robert
Riley yesterday said Government should review
the nation's current tax regime to encourage companies to increase oil and
gas production.
Speaking with reporters at a luncheon at their
Port of Spain offices, the bpTT chairman discussed
his company's many offshore exploration successes
and failures.
He urged authorities and industry experts to pay
closer attention to the upstream aspect of the
energy business.
Riley's
remarks came on the heels of reports that BG
T&T, another major player in the country's
energy sector, had retrenched some 42 employees
as a result of internal reorganisation.
Over the past year, bpTT, the second largest provider
of tax revenue to the State coffers, failed to
come up with commercial gas production at its multi-million-dollar
Ibis Deep field but recently reported success at
its Mango platform.
Describing
the failures as "challenges",
he indicated that many industry people had grown
accustomed to frequent oil and gas finds and had
forgotten the high risk involved in the exploratory
phase of the oil and gas business.
Noting that bpTT currently was capable of providing
the natural gas needs for the four Atlantic LNG
trains, Riley expressed doubt as to if there would
any new LNG trains.
"I don't have gas for a fifth or sixth train," he
said.
Riley
emphasised that his company "is always
interested in growth" and explained that with
appropriate tax incentives "we could get production
up".
Looking to 2008, Riley said his company will be
focusing on prospective oil and gas fields in Trinidad's
northern maritime area as well as in the so-called
ultra deep areas.
He suggested that Government should also work
hard to encourage the development of the ultra
deep offshore fields.
Story from
Trinidad Express
Trinidad
Express
Friday, November 30th 2007
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