Jun 2016 Financial News

Olivierre: Gas-sharing talks progressing

Jun 14, 2016

The Government is in advanced discussions with Venezuela on cross-border gas-sharing arrangements, Energy Minister Nicole Olivierre said yesterday, when she gave the feature address at the opening of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of T&T’s (SPETT) 2016 Energy and Resources Conference and Exhibition at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain.

She said the Government is moving aggressively to boost gas supply to downstream energy companies by attempting to fast-track discussions with the Venezuelan government and many agreements are at the stage of finalisation or near completion.

“The functional structure and governance for the operation of the Loran-Manatee unit area has been finalised, and the companies involved are close to finalisation of the unitisation and unit operating agreement. The companies have also been asked to prepare a conceptual development plan for the unitised field,” she said.

Olivierre added Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has agreed to collaborate with the Government on research and development of the potential for cross-border gas-sharing from other fields.

Referring to the memorandum of understanding for technical and commercial studies of the natural gas supply through an interconnection from the Dragon Field in Sucre, northeast Venezuela, Olivierre said: “The field has reserves estimated at 2.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, a portion of which will be made available for purchase by Trinidad and Tobago. Joint technical and commercial teams from each government and the state entities NGC and PDVSA have been appointed with a mandate to establish the technical and economic feasibility of such gas supply and to develop a business model for its monetisation.”

She added that similar discussions have been initiated with the governments of Guyana, Grenada and Ghana, all with the aim of developing economic ties, creating cross-border investment opportunities and providing captive markets for T&T’s energy service companies.

Source:
Trinidad Guardian
Tuesday June 14, 2016

http://www.guardian.co.tt/business/2016-06-14/olivierre-gas-sharing-talks-progressing