Trinidad and Tobago readying three upstream licensing rounds

Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries plans to launch three competitive bid rounds for upstream hydrocarbons acreage over the next 12 months to help drive exploration, according to minister Stuart Young.

“As a predominantly oil and gas economy Trinidad and Tobago must and will accelerate the exploration and development of its hydrocarbon resources or we run the risk of the resources becoming stranded,” Young said at a sector event.

The first process is scheduled for the third quarter and will offer as many as 11 deepwater blocks, followed by an onshore call and a shallow water round in 2022.

Young highlighted efforts underway to lift crude production to over 80,000b/d in 2022-25, with plans for Heritage Petroleum to accelerate farmouts and enhanced production service contracts, and a request for proposals to develop the Jubilee field.

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Regarding natural gas, Young said that output “is taking a little longer to regain the momentum that was dampened by plant turnarounds, reduced demand due to low petrochemical prices and operational issues including infrastructure work to bring on new production.”

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DECARBONIZATION

Another area the minister pointed to is the government’s decarbonization strategy as part of the Paris climate agreement.

The official said the target is to reduce emissions 15% by 2030 or 103Mt, of which 72Mt corresponds to industry, 28.7Mt to power generation and 2.6Mt to transportation.

The reduction will cost an estimated US$2bn, the bulk of which is for power (US$945mn), followed by transportation (US$735mn) and industry (US$320mn), he added.

Local funds and international climate change financing, including the Green Climate Fund, would support the strategy.

Actions underway include the drafting of a hydrogen economy framework and the solar utility project, said Young.

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“The oil and gas industry has an important role to play in the move to low carbon alternatives and…a managed transition will be critical to prevent serious supply disruptions and destabilizing price volatility,” Young told participants.

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In a related note, the Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago has relaunched a tender to design, supply, install and commission a solar photovoltaic generation system at the Piarco international airport.

Potential participants must request the invitation to tender by July 12 and a mandatory virtual pre-bid meeting is scheduled for July 13, with offers due by September 30, according to the procurement notice.

The original call was issued in December. A reason for a new process was not disclosed.