'No
new pitch lake, just mud volcano'
Trinidad Express
Petroleumworldtt.com
03 30 08
A Recent report by residents of Penal who believe
they had discovered a pitch lake in Diggity, near
Clark Road, is nothing more than a volcanic eruption
of mud and oil, says oil consultant Dr Krishna
Persad.
Persad
said, "As far as I know, over the
years no new pitch lake has been found in Trinidad,
what we have been seeing is mud and oil sand flowing
in some areas and leaving an asphalt-like appearance
on the ground".
Persad was commenting on a recent report that
suggested that La Brea might lose its uniqueness
as the only pitch lake in Trinidad.
He said when he heard about the report that a
new pitch lake had been found, he recalled that
in December 1938, an oil well No 306 had disappeared
in the same area where the residents thought they
had found a new lake.
Of
the disappearance, Persad said "the night
before it disappeared, one Mr Jardine, the driller,
had taken up duties and in the course of the night
workers called him out to the rig to see what was
taking place. Persad said, "It first began
moving like a snake and in a few hours the well
was completely submerged into the earth, leaving
no trace of any thing connected to the well."
Persad said after the disappearance of the well
there was a lot of excitement in the village, and
suddenly the well started to flow and the villagers
had to be evacuated from their homes and sent to
a place of safety.
Roodal Moonilal, the MP for the area, told the
Express yesterday his interest in the Diggity area
was to establish a tourist site near the Diggity
mud volcano.
Speaking
about the discovery of a new pitch lake, Moonilal
said, "Unlikely
as it seemed, I have called on the people in
the scientific field to
give details of the new find."
He
said: "In the meantime
I have contacted the Ministry of Tourism to declare
the Diggity
volcano a tourist attraction where visitors could
see a 25-foot-high volcano in a setting that is
conducive to picnicking."
"There are many attractions there, a good
site for picnicking, a river, and a colonial-type
bridge," said Moonilal.
Wayne Woods, CEO of Trinidad Lake Asphalt, said
during a recent tour of the La Brea Pitch Lake
that the find by the people of Penal will be discussed
with technocrats associated with the asphalt industry.
"We have very little information on the subject
but the matter will be discussed with our scientific
team," said Woods.
"Trinidad asphalt has become an important
asset, with some 45,000 metric tonnes soon to be
exported to China to pave the roads leading to
the Beijing Olympic Games".
Story by
Louis
B Homer from
The Trinidad Express , South Bureau
The
Trinidad Express
Tuesday, March 25th 2008
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