The petrochemical sector alone contributed more than $18.3 billion of direct value added to the T&T economy in 2011, according to Roger Packer, president of the Energy Chamber. "This does not count the additional value by the links with other sectors, such as the service contractors, construction and other service. For comparison purposes, the entire non-energy manufacturing sector contributed $6.6 billion of direct added value additions to the economy in 2011." Packer said the energy sector is taxed more heavily than others. "The petrochemical sector is taxed at 35 per cent of profits compared to all others sectors, subject to corporation tax at 25 per cent. The petrochemical sector accounts for approximately half of all corporation tax collected by the Government."
Established in the 1970s, the 860-acre Pt Lisas industrial estate has outgrown its present site. Both the Ministry of Energy and the Energy Chamber-whose membership comprise key petrochemical stakeholders-agree on this. The estate needs to be expanded, but there's little wiggle room for growth at the estate's present location, which is 32 kilometres south of Port-of-Spain. This estate, home to 11 methanol plants, four ammonia plants, one urea plant, two large power stations and a large reverse osmosis water desalination plant. Pt Lisas, home of the Caribbean's largest steelmaker Arcelor Mittal Pt Lisas Ltd, is largely fuelled by natural gas, which is produced off the east coast of Trinidad and transported by pipeline across the island. According to the Web site of the Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Company (Plipdeco), which manages the estate, Pt Lisas represents an investment of more than US$2 billion. The estate is a huge revenue earner for the Treasury.
Last November, Ian Welch, managing director of PCS Nitrogen Trinidad Ltd, warned that T&T has to move expeditiously to tweak the Pt Lisas model or face closure of some plants. "I am not going to knock the model because it has been a fantastic model that has served this country well in the past, but times change and things are changing quickly, so there is no doubt that there is a need to tweak it." Via e-mail on Tuesday, Packer outlined how he thinks the estate should be expanded. "The physical landholding of the Point Lisas industrial estate is basically full. There is existing industrial estate space available in the Union Estate in La Brea. This area should be a priority for future industrial expansion, if the country is to benefit from the large investments that have already been sunk in infrastructure in the area such as electrical power, land clearance, deepwater port facilities and water." Having outgrown its present site, Packer said new areas need to be identified for development. "Any new industrial expansion in central Trinidad will need to be in new areas outside estate boundaries. This raises questions about land use planning within the wider Point Lisas and Couva area.
"Long-term land use planning needs to be undertaken to ensure that the needs of the community and the needs of industry are met at the same time as ensuring compliance with best environmental practices. This land use planning must involve significant stakeholder engagement," he added. "The land area for future industrial expansion needs to be identified through land use planning process, involving dialogue with all key stakeholders." The private sector will invest in the new expansion. "Much of the infrastructure for industrial expansion in the Point Lisas is already in place. The major investments will come from the companies building the facilities, not from the Government. The industry as a whole would like to see well-planned and executed industrial expansion." Regarding the Energy Chamber's role, Packer said: "The Energy Chamber's main representation has been around the development of the Union Industrial Estate in La Brea."
Global comparisons
Packer compared the Point Lisas industrial estate with similar plants globally. "The Point Lisas estate is a world-class petrochemical cluster. Unlike many petrochemical estates in developing countries, the vast majority of people within the Point Lisas Estate are nationals of T&T. There are well-established training institutions around the estate which play an important role in this regard, in particular, the University of T&T (UTT) and the National Energy Skills Centre (NESC)."
The relationship between operators and contractors has always been strong.
"There are well-established and robust business relationships between the major plant operators on the estate and the major contractors, especially with respect to safety management systems through Safe-To-Work in T&T (STOW) and basic safety training through the Point Lisas Energy Association (PLEA) passport system and the Energy Chamber's Learning Centre," he said. "The country should be proud of the role that our predecessor association, the South Energy Chamber, played in envisioning the estate and incorporating Plipdeco in 1966. On the gas shortage that has been affecting the estate over the last seven months, Packer said it must be solved by each company. "These are issues that must be negotiated between the National Gas Company and the individual plants over the renewal of their gas supply contracts."
Companies on the estate
According to the information provided by the Energy Chamber, there are more than 25 companies based on the estate:
• Four nitrogen ammonia plants
• Urea plant PCS Nitrogen Trinidad Ltd
• 11 ammonia plants, including PLNK, N2K, CNC, Yara, MHTL AUM and Tringen.
• five methanol plants owned by Methanol Holdings Trinidad Ltd (MHTL), with an annual capacity of more than four million MT
• the Atlas methanol plant is a joint venture between Methanex Corporation (63.1 per cent) and bpTT (36.9 per cent).
Commercial production began in July 2004. The Atlas facility features one of the largest single train methanol plants in the world, with a annual production capacity of 1.8 MT per year. Methanex's operation in T&T represents 2.7 MT of methanol per year, making this an important production centre in the organisation's network. Methanex Trinidad has been managing and operating the two-plant facility situated on the Point Lisas industrial estate in central Trinidad since May 1, 2006. The company exports 100 per cent of its methanol production, contributing to T&T's position as the world's leading exporter of methanol.
The Methanex-owned Titan Plant has an annual production capacity of 900,000 tonnes. Commercial production began in June 2000.
• one natural gas liquids plant Phoenix Park Gas Processors Ltd
• three direct reduced iron (DRI) plants Arcelor Mittal Pt Lisas Ltd
• one DRI pant Nu-Iron Unlimited
• two power generation plants Powergen and Trinity Power
• lube oil blending Shell
• bunker fuel service facility Ventrin Petroleum Company Ltd
Plant Start-up Year Technology Annual Capacity (MT)
Yara Trinidad Ltd 1959 Braun 285,000
Tringen I 1977 Fluor 500,000
PCS 01 1981 MW Kellogg 445,000
PCS 02 1981 MW Kellogg 445,000
Tringen II 1988 Braun 495,000
PCS 03 1996 Braun 250,000
PCS 04 1998 KAAP 650,000
Point Lisas Nitrogen Ltd (PLNL) 1998 KAAP 650,000
Caribbean Nitrogen Company (CNC) 2002 KAAP 650,000
Nitrogen 2000 (N2K) 2004 KAAP 650,000
AUM Ammonia 2009 KAAP 650,000
KAAP: Kellogg Advanced Ammonia Process
(Source: Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries' Web site)
About ammonia
There are 11 ammonia plants that include two ammonia complexes on the Point Lisas industrial estate with a total annual capacity of 5.2 million metric tonnes (MT). Ammonia is used in the fertiliser industry, metal treating operations, production of nitric acid, in wastewater treatment, etc. It is produced by combining nitrogen from the atmosphere with hydrogen produced by steam reforming of natural gas in a one to three ratio. The first complex comprises the two Tringen plants, which are joint ventures between the Government and the Norwegian firm Norsk Hydro. A third ammonia plant, the oldest in the country, was formerly owned by WR Grace and acquired by Norsk Hydro in 1991; it was formally named Hydro-Agri, but is now known as Yara Trinidad Ltd. The second fertiliser complex is one of the world's largest ammonia complexes and is owned by Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PCS) and comprises four ammonia plants and one urea plant. One plant is owned by Pt Lisas Nitrogen Ltd-formerly Farmland Misschem-with an annual capacity of 650,000 MT. The technology used is the Haber process. The shareholders are Terra Industries and KOCH Minerals Services LLC, being equal partners.
Another plant is owned by Caribbean Nitrogen Company Ltd (CNC), with an annual capacity of 650,000 MT. It is owned by a consortium comprising of subsidiary companies of MAN Ferrostaal, Proman and KOCH Industries and local company EOG Resources Trinidad Ltd. This consortium also owns another plant, the 650,000 MT per annum Nitrogen2000 plant, which commenced production in 2004. The PCS 04, PLNL, CNC and N2000 plants use the Kellogg advanced ammonia process.
The ammonia plant of the ammonia-urea ammonium nitrate-melamine (AUM) complex is the newest addition to the ammonia manufacturing plants. Its production capacity is approximately 650,000 MT per annum and started production in April 2009. The table on Page 7 shows the start-up date, technology, and annual capacity for each ammonia plant in Trinidad.