Offshore
platforms made in T&T
By
Louis B Homer
Trinidad
Express
Port Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com.
06 11 06
LOCAL
content in the energy sector is achieving the desired
objective.
In
two years, three offshore platforms have been designed
and fabricated at La Brea Industrial Estate (LABIDCO),
and a fourth is under construction.
Recently,
the Oilbird platform owned by EOG Resources Trinidad
Limited was launched, and offshore installation
of the structure is expected to begin this month.
Production from the platform is expected to come
on stream towards the end of the year.
The
platform is to be stationed about 30 miles off the
southeast coat of Trinidad in the South East Consortium
block. It will be EOG's sixth gas production platform
in Trinidad and the largest, heaviest and most complete
structure to be designed and fabricated, thus far,
in this country.
Representatives
of EOG and its partners, state-owned oil company
Petrotrin and the National Gas company of Trinidad
and Tobago (NGC) were on hand to witness the launch
of the US$54 million steel platform which occupies
28,000 square feet of floor space and weighs 1,750
tons.
The
company responsible for successfully constructing
the platform is Trinidad Offshore Fabrication Company
- a joint venture between Weldfab, a Trinidad construction
company and Chef Morrison, a Louisiana based fabricator.
The
platform will be used in drilling operations in
the Oilbird field which was first drilled in 1977
by Texaco.
"The
well at first seemed to be uneconomical, but with
new data and new technology, new thinking about
the potential of the field changed," said Linden
Looger, Managing Director of EOG Resources Limited.
Pat
Woods, Operations Manager, EOG Resources said the
development of the Oilbird Field has been long in
making.
"After
the drilling was done by Texaco, a seismic survey
was done in 2001 which identified the potential
gas reserves in the Oilbird field," he said.
Woods
said that with the new interpretation of the area,
EOG drilled Oilbird No 2 and 3 in late 2001. "These
wells were successful in delineating the field and
identifying reserves for economic development,"
he said.
Reviewing
the ups and down of the development of the gas industry,
Professor Ken Julien, Chairman of the Natural Gas
Export Task Force said at the platform launch that
when they were looking for a company to assist in
gas recovery in the Oilbird field "EOG appeared
on the scene. Contact was made in 1992 and one year
later EOG began producing gas which triggered off
the present phase in the development of our gas
industry."
Julien
said that although the Trinidad and Tobago economy
has improved because of high oil and gas prices,
"we should not be complacent." He advised:
Stop harbouring the impression that we have oil
and gas and we have nothing to worry about."
Julien
said Trinidad has less than one per cent of the
world's oil and .5 per cent of its gas reserves.
Touching
on the current controversy concerning the protection
of the environment, he said that for years there
were a number of oil wells in the La Brea area that
were either uncapped or were exuding oil.
"No
one said nothing about this at that time, and it
was the National Energy Corporation that did something
about it by cleaning up the environment in the La
Brea area."
Julien
said that in the future there will be a great demand
for skilled labour in La Brea because of the number
of plants that will be constructed and that "one
of the difficulties we will be faced with will be
the shortage of skills to build and manage these
plants."
Noted
Julien: "This time around a programme of training
has been agreed to. The old school at Vessigny will
be converted into a training school, specialising
in the skills needed in the area."
He
predicted that in a few years Point Lisas Industrial
Estate could be overshadowed by LABIDCO because
of the rate of development taking place there.
Trinidad
Express Jun 8, 2006
Copyright
©2006 Trinidad Express. All Rights Reserved.
