BP Trinidad and Tobago LLC (bpTT) has announced the safe start-up of the Galeota expansion project (GEP).
President, bpTT Claire Fitzpatrick said this was a proud moment for the company as it culminated years of work and effective partnerships between teams, contractors and the many people who worked together to safely deliver the project. “Although this project does not directly increase production, it is an important investment in safe, reliable and environmentally compliant facilities that will support our continued operations over the coming decades,” Fitzpatrick explained.
In a statement the company noted the project has been under construction since late 2016 began September 28, 2020, reiterating that the completion represented a major milestone for bpTT.
“The Galeota Terminal is core to bpTT’s operations and is essential to T&T, as it processes all hydrocarbon liquids produced from bpTT’s 15 offshore facilities as well as from other upstream producers,” the company said.
It noted Galeota terminal began operations in 1972 and the GEP was necessary to maintain the safe, reliable and compliant terminal operations for the next 20 plus years.
The new facility will restore the terminal’s capacity to process 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) of condensate.
“It will also make our operations safer, by separating the entrained gas and produced water more efficiently, thereby reducing condensate volatility,” bpTT said, adding that it also provides increased safety for personnel as a newly constructed control room will now move operators further away from the plant.
In addition, the facility has the capacity to efficiently process 50,000bpd of produced water and enables compliance with T&T’s water pollution rules.
At its peak during construction, GEP employed approximately 900 people, 96 per cent of whom were nationals, bpTT said.
It added over the past four years, the project also brought significant benefit to the community of Mayaro and its environs through partnerships with local suppliers for the provision of various services and contract labour.
The GEP also invested TT$3.5 million into the community, mainly supporting education programmes.
These provided grants to students wishing to pursue Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and scholarships to those wishing to pursue tertiary level education, the company said.