The Caribbean’s largest fossil fuel producing nation is unfazed by the falling price of oil. Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine yesterday said analysis submitted to Cabinet on Thursday shows that gas is offsetting the loss of oil revenue. He said Finance Minister Larry Howai, who was not at Cabinet, will present the numbers. “The conclusive evidence is that we get more revenue from gas than from oil,” he said.
Ramnarine also said a price at which the low oil price will begin to cut into revenue has not yet been calculated. The high quality of crude from the increased production by Repsol and Leni also fetches higher prices than the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) the minister said, adding that increased production of higher quality crude will also have an offsetting effect.
On Wednesday, Ramnarine announced that T&T’s oil production was averaging 85,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), up from the 81,000 bopd level of the past 24-36 months. Yesterday, Lease Operators Ltd, Touchstone Exploration, and Range Resources Trinidad Ltd received signed licenses from Commissioner of State Lands Ian Fletcher, Petrotrin, and the energy minister. They will explore for oil and gas in Rio Claro (Lease Operators), Ortoire (Touchstone), and St Mary’s (Range Resources), Moruga.
The three onshore blocks cover a total area of 63,716 hectares and are located close to Petrotrin’s core licensed areas and joint venture producing blocks. Petrotrin will hold a 20 per cent interest in each of the onshore blocks. Petrotrin chairman Lindsay Gillette said he hoped to see the blocks brought into production as soon as possible.
“We have seen and we are encouraged by recent successes and significant oil production increases with our partners in the eastern fields, in particular, Goudron and Catshill which are close to or within the geographic outline of the blocks,” Gillette said.
Lease Operators Ltd was the only local company to walk away with a block this bid round. The company said it is hoping to produce 5000 bold from its block. Lease Operators Ltd is a subsidiary of Well Services Petroleum Company Ltd. Lease Operators is a Petrotrin partner rand produces 2300 bopd.
Asked if he thought PetroCaribe would survive the declining oil price, Ramnarine said that is a decision of the Venezuelan government. He said PetroCaribe has helped many “brother and sister” Caribbean nations including Jamaica, St Vincent and St Lucia. Ramnarine said with the reopening of the Hovensa refinery in the US Virgin Islands Petrotrin will face increased competition to supply the region. Hovensa in St Croix was the world’s largest refinery with a capacity for 600,000 bold.
Petrotrin’s Pointe-a-Pierre refinery has a capacity of 165,000 bopd.