Gas audit positive for T&T

Trinidad and Tobago is left with ten years of proven natural gas reserves according to the latest Ryder Scott natural gas audit. The 2011 audit found that for another year the proven reserves have declined but it noted that the decline has slowed to 2 per cent of the total proven reserves. It means that Trinidad and Tobago’s proven natural gas reserves now stand at 13.257 trillion cubic feet (tcf) down from 13.46 tcf in 2010.

Ryder Scott’s senior vice president, Herman Acuna, noted that in 2010 and 2009 the proven reserves had declined by 7 per cent but it was now down by 2 percent. He said the rate of decline was reduced because some of the companies like BPTT and BGTT were able to move reserves from probable to the proven column. Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine said he was pleased that the decline in the proven reserves was now negligible and that the country was able to replace almost all of the 1.34 tcf of gas it used last year.

Ramnarine repeated his suggestion that when people are looking at the country’s natural gas reserves position they  should not be just concerned with the proven reserves number. He said: “What this year’s audit has done is confirm what I had said last year, which is that we must stop fixating on the 1P or proven reserve category and look at the entire basin potential. The largest natural gas companies in this country base their plans on the 2P or proven plus probable reserve numbers. They don’t base their business plan on the proven reserves number only.”

T&T’s proven and probable reserves combined declined from 21.1 tcf in 2010 to 19.292 tcf. Ryder Scott revealed that it had audited the inventories and geological concepts of BP Trinidad & Tobago (BPTT), British Gas, BHP Billiton, Chevron Corp., EOG Resources, Centrica, Petrotrin, Repsol, and other open areas to reach its findings.  It increased the country’s exploration potential by 4.85 tcf to 30.83 tcf bringing the total basin potential to 56.28 tcf of natural gas.

Ramnarine noted that the figures did not consider the potential of natural gas being discovered in the deep water blocks that the country has entered Production Sharing contracts with BPTT for and it did not include NCMA 2, NCMA 3, and 4 (b) which were awarded to different companies and which the Ministry fell are gas prone.

“It should be noted  too that Production Sharing Contracts for NCMA 2, NCMA 3, NCMA 4, and 4 (b) could lead to work programmes that will explore for unrisked gas resources/reserves estimated in the range of 4.29 to 9.63 tcf based on the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs estimates and 6.06-20.28 tcf based on the respective companies estimates.” Ramnarine added.

He said the country’s exploration programme was getting to a heightened stage with US$3 billion in exploration and production activities expected to take place over the next fiscal year. Ramnarine said the country could look forward to 22 exploration wells being drilled with 7 on land and 15 offshore.