A letter to the editor has made me realise that a lot has been done in such a short period in the energy sector in T&T. It made me review all the facts.The facts are since the 1980s T&T's crude oil production has been on a decline. It is important for T&T to have a sustainable oil production because crude oil prices fetch higher tax revenue for our economy. It's amazing how our country rebounded from a state of panic that existed up until 2010 to one where we are now "new energy economy."
We have seen success in deep water exploration with the award of offshore blocks to BHP Billiton, the commercialisation of heavy oil resources and the intervention of research for the widespread recovery of conventional left-behind oil.
The Minister of Energy has licensed more acreage than any other Minister of Energy in the history of T&T. He has signed eight production sharing contracts and six licenses. The signing of licences by three energy companies to drill for oil on land will result in the country's oil and gas production being further boosted. The three companies, ie, Lease Operators Ltd, Primera Oil and Gas will exploit acreage with a reserve potential of 822 million barrels of oil.
In total 63,716 hectares of land were licensed for exploration. This accounts for approximately 12.5 per cent of the entire land mass of T&T.We are now beginning to see first-world efforts as compared to that of Texas, USA and Alberta, Canada where efforts are being made to quantify heavy oil and retrieve some of the conventional oil now stranded in fields all over South Trinidad by employing an enhanced recovery method using carbon dioxide injection.
Imagine there are over two-seven billion barrels of heavy oil reserves in T&T. What's the exact figure?In the article by Mr Renwick, it also mentioned that the Minister is currently seeking to address this uncertainty through research with UTT. This is phenomenal!
Dr Paula Ramjohn
Energy consultant