Enill: Latest audit shows more gas
PORT SPAIN
Trinidad & Tobago Express
Petroleumworldtt.com
06 17 09
A preliminary review of the latest audit of the nation's gas reserves, conducted by Houston-based firm Ryder Scott, shows that there are additional supplies available due to the delay in the establishment of a US$1.2 billion hot briquette iron plant by India-based Essar Steel.
"So that the situation should be significantly better than it was last year," Energy Minister Conrad Enill said in an interview with the Express as he revealed that a team of officials from the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries is now in Houston, Texas, USA, going over the results of the latest gas audit with executives from Ryder Scott.
Enill made the comment on Wednesday in response to questions on the disclosure made by Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries permanent secretary Leroy Myers when he appeared before the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last Friday at the Red House, Port of Spain.
Myers did so at a time when the natural gas price average closed last week at just below US$7 per million British thermal units (mmbtu). As of yesterday, natural gas prices averaged US$3.74 per mmbtu, which is well below last year's average of US$7 per mmbtu. He told the committee that "we're now completing the 2009 natural gas reserves study".
"We did the Ryder Scott and the results are due anytime now.... I have sent a team away to work with the people to finalise it," Enill told the Express Wednesday.
He said the fact that the "Essar Steel plant" has not come on stream as yet was the main reason why Ryder Scott has determined there are more gas reserves to be utilisied during the 2008 period of their latest audit.
"The Environmental Management Authority still has an outstanding matter with them (Essar Steel), a construction report or something like that...I don't recall, which is outstanding, so that project hasn't started as yet, so we do have the gas because the gas was intended to be available now," Enill said.
Enill could not recall exactly how much gas reserves were dedicated to the Essar Steel plant, which is set to be constructed in Claxton Bay and is expected to provide hundreds of jobs during the construction phase but a smaller number of jobs when completed.
Ryder Scott's last natural gas audit stated that this country had proven reserves of 16.9 trillion cubic feet (tcf) for the year ended December 31, 2007, which equated to about 13 years worth of supplies if no future exploration were to take place. In its 2006 report, Ryder Scott labelled an additional 37.1 tcf as unidentified reserves.
Story by Juhel Browne from Trinidad & Tobago
Express
Trinidad & Tobago Express
Friday, June 12th 2009
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