Conrad
Enill: Govt in aggressive search for gas, oil
Port Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
01 13 08
MINISTER
of Energy and Energy Industries Conrad Enill
yesterday said Government plans to increase
exploration for natural gas as he sought to allay
anxiety about depletion of T&T’s gas
reserves.
Last
year’s Ryder Scott Hydrocarbon Audit
Report concluded that at current rates of production
T&T’s natural gas reserves would be exhausted
in 12 years.
However, Enill stressed that there are a number
of new initiatives to discover new deposits of
gas and oil.
He said Cabinet yesterday approved two such initiative,
granting production joint contracts and the sale
of 80 per cent of Trintomar acreage to EOG Resources
Ltd for US$20 million.
“There has been much discussion about exploration
and development activities in Trinidad and Tobago
in the energy sector arising from the last report
that we had from Ryder Scott,” Enill noted.
“As
is the case, and since then, the Government is
continuing to facilitate and encourage an aggressive
exploratory programme on land, near-shore areas,
shallow marine areas, as well as the deep-water
areas.”
He
stressed that this was part of the Government’s
strategy “geared towards ensuring that adequate
supplies become available for both increasing domestic
demand and new industrial purposes.”
This
included a “sustained programme to
invite bids from oil and gas companies to undertake
exploration and development activities in several
acreages.”
He said Government had recently invited competitive
bidding for eight onshore and near-shore blocks,
three marine blocks, and eight deep-water blocks.
Several companies had expressed interest in nine
blocks.
He
said the Cabinet had also “approved the
award of two production-sharing contracts” to
the consortium comprising Voyager Energy Ltd and
Petrotrin to explore and develop the Central Range
shallow horizon block and Central Range deep oil
block.
Enill
said Calgary-based Voyager Energy had special
expertise for exploring in these blocks, which
were “one of the more challenging areas on
land.”
Enill
said the first phase of these programmes included
the acquisition of land and seismic tests,
and the drilling of four wells—three to a
depth of 1,350 metres in the shallow horizon block,
and one to a depth of 3,650 metres in the deep
horizon block.
“Voyager will be in T&T next week for
discussions with Petrotrin and the Ministry of
Energy,” Enill said.
Story
by Anthony Milne from The Trinidad
Guardian
The
Trinidad Guardian
Friday
11th January, 2008
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