Columbus Energy update on Inniss-Trinity IPSC

Columbus Energy, the oil and gas producer and explorer focused on onshore Trinidad, provided the following update about the Inniss-Trinity Incremental Production Service Contract (‘Inniss-Trinity IPSC’).

FRAM Exploration (Trinidad), a fully owned subsidiary of the Company, is party to the Inniss-Trinity IPSC with SOC Heritage Petroleum Company(previously Petrotrin).

The Company’s interest in the Inniss-Trinity field benefits from an agreement with Predator Oil & Gas, whereby Predator will fund and help plan a CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery Pilot Project. FRAM remains the operator of the Inniss-Trinity IPSC, including work for the CO2 pilot project. As part of the agreement with Predator, in the event the CO2 pilot project is a success, Predator has the right to purchase FRAM for US$4.2m.

Work continues with Predator and Heritage to advance the CO2 pilot project, with the first injections of CO2 expected in Q2 2019, following confirmation that Heritage approved of the conduct of the CO2 pilot project, subject to all requisite regulatory consents.

Leo Koot, Executive Chairman of Columbus, commented:

‘The Company looks forward to working with Heritage and Predator to advance the CO2 pilot project. We believe the CO2 pilot project on Inniss-Trinity will give all parties a valuable insight into an alternative enhanced oil recovery mechanism for Trinidad and has the potential to transform oil & gas operations in the Inniss-Trinity field and in similar fields in Trinidad.”

Source: Columbus Energy

Trinity Exploration & Production plc

Preliminary Results

Trinity, the independent E&P company focused on Trinidad and Tobago, announces its unaudited preliminary results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2018.

2018 was a significant year for Trinity with the recommencement of onshore drilling activities, continuation of our low-cost work programme and strengthening of our balance sheet. The maintenance of our high operating margins and increase in production propelled us to exit the year in a strong financial and operational position as evidenced by our Q4 2018 production levels being in excess of 3,000 bopd and our Adjusted EBITDA margin for the year exceeding 30%.

Financial Highlights

• • Revenues increased by 38% to USD 62.6 million (2017: USD: 45.2 million)
  • Adjusted EBITDA increased 51% to USD 19.2 million (2017: USD 12.7 million)
  • Adjusted EBITDA margin of 31% (2017: 28%) or USD 18.3/bbl (2017: USD 13.8/bbl)
  • Adjusted EBITDA after SPT and PT up 21% to USD 12.8 million (2017: USD 10.6 million)
  • Maintained a group operating break-even price below USD 30.0/bbl
  • Cash balance of USD 10.2 million (2017: USD 11.8 million) impacted by one-off increase in trade receivables of USD 6.7 million relating to the Petrotrin restructuring. Post the period-end, USD 4.1 million of these outstanding receivables have been collected and full collection of the remaining USD 2.6 million is expected by the end of H1 2019
  • Cash plus working capital surplus of USD 18.1 million (2017: USD 0.1 million)

Corporate Highlights

• • Balance sheet significantly strengthened with all outstanding debt fully repaid following USD 20 million fundraise which also provided funds for ongoing onshore drilling programme
  • Strengthening of Board, with appointment of Nicholas Clayton as Senior Independent Director

Operational Highlights

• The Company’s total 2P reserves (Onshore and Offshore) increased to 24.49 million stock tank barrels (“mmstb”) (6% increase vs 2017: 23.21 mmstb)
• Driven primarily by 26% increase in onshore reserves following on from a 45% increase in 2017
• Total 2P reserves and 2C resources of 43.26 mmstb at 31 December 2018 (2017: 47.19 mmstb)
• Average production of 2,871 bopd (2017: 2,519 bopd), representing a 14% increase, underpinned by:
• Drilling of eight new onshore wells efficiently and cost effectively on a turnkey basis
• 17 recompletions (“RCPs”) (2017: 37) including first offshore RCP
• Increase in active offshore wells producing to 31 (2017: 17)
• Base production maintenance through a continuous campaign of 143 workovers (“WO”) and reactivations (2017: 97).
• Resulted in exit production rate in excess of 3,000 bopd (Q4 2018: 3,205 bopd)
• Contingent upon the prevailing oil price environment, and subsequent investment, net average production for 2019 is expected to be in the range of 3,000 – 3,300 bopd

The Fundraise completed in July 2018 means that Trinity is fully funded and debt free. Equally importantly, the sustained generation of strong operating cash flows and a consolidated operating break-even below USD 30.0/bbl provides significant downside protection in the event of a decline in the oil price.

Trinity continues to focus on delivering our planned work programme, with  fully funded drilling operations providing near-term production upside, targeting year-on-year production growth of at least 10%. Added to this, as the development effort continues to mature on the TGAL Area development plan, the Company is increasingly excited the project. The TGAL development has the potential to achieve a step change in production and value for the Company as we target our medium-term production goal of 7,500 bopd. Furthermore, Trinity believe there are a number of inorganic growth opportunities that the Company could pursue, and they are well placed to take advantage of any suitable opportunities that may arise.

The broader environment in T&T remains extremely promising. Whilst there have been some one-off challenges in the transition from Petrotrin to Heritage, Trinity are confident that their locally led business model is well suited to the future based on their incumbent position and strong relationships on the ground in T&T.

With average realisations being above USD 50.0/bbl for 2018, the regressive Supplemental Petroleum Tax (“SPT”) impacted cash conversion levels. SPT in its current structure is a global anomaly and disadvantages oil producers when compared to gas producers. Trinity, alongside other crude oil producers in T&T, continue to lobby for its reform as was promised by the current Government. They believe that reform would re-calibrate the economics for all crude oil operators in the region while potentially opening up new investment opportunities.

Alongside working towards a more equitable fiscal environment for oil producers, Trinity continues to strive to optimise the economic returns from its asset base; with a determined focus on subsurface analysis, using the best data available and adopting new technological approaches to include high angle or horizontal drilling.

Given the strength of their ongoing work programme and visibility afforded by their balance sheet, Trinity face the future with a growing confidence. They anticipate further strategic opportunities arising in 2019 and are committed to delivering value for all  stakeholders and with their local model, they are ideally positioned to take advantage of such changes.

Bruce Dingwall, CBE, Executive Chairman of Trinity, commented:

“2018 was a significant year for Trinity with the recommencement of onshore drilling activities, continuation of our low-cost work programme and strengthening of our balance sheet. We face the future with a growing confidence, ideally positioned to take advantage of strategic opportunities arising in 2019 for the benefit of all our stakeholders.”

Big Bruce remains bullish, delighting shareholders hoping that Trinmar and onshore assets will soon be available in Joint Ventures with the new SOC.

Touchstone – operational update

Touchstone Exploration  announced an operational update.

• Achieved crude oil sales of 1,994 bbls/d in January and 2,179 bbls/d in February.
• Realized average prices of US$52.00 per barrel and US$56.84 per barrel for January and February crude oil volumes, respectively.
• Current field estimated production is approximately 2,358 bbls/d (based on the previous seven-day average).
• Production from 11 wells drilled in 2018 currently contributing an average of 993 bbls/d to current field estimated production.
• Received Certificates of Environmental Compliance (“CEC”) for seven drilling locations on the Ortoire exploration property.

Notice of Results

The Company expects to release financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2018 on March 27, 2019.

Production

Touchstone has initially completed all of the wells drilled in its 2018 drilling campaign. Due to best practice in Trinidad, the Company initially completed the lower most sands in each of the wells. Upon evaluation of production rates and economic viability, several of the initial completed zones were suspended, with the Company moving uphole to more prospective targets. To date, the Company has eight of the 11 wells optimized with the remaining three awaiting final approval to complete additional sands. Upon receipt of the customary regulatory approvals, the Company will proceed with the proposed workovers.

The Company received average prices of US$52.00 per barrel for the month of January and US$56.84 per barrel for the month of February, which represented a 12.5% and 11.1% discount to Brent reference pricing, respectively. For comparison purposes, the Company received an average price of US$58.41 in the fourth quarter of 2018, which represented a discount of 15.1% to average Brent reference pricing over the period. The Company collected its monthly crude oil sales payments from the SOC Heritage Petroleum Company Limited in a timely manner pursuant to the transferred marketing agreements.

Paul Baay, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented:

‘The team continues to optimize the wells drilled in the 2018 program which has resulted in significant changes to our stabilized base production rates. Several of the wells are pool extensions and as such have shown much higher pressures than .. in the past, which has also resulted in higher initial production rates. These wells have also verified a number of new geological concepts that will further expand our development drilling inventory.”

Ortoire Block

The Company submitted all required documentation for four CECs, which represent a total of 14 drilling locations on the Ortoire property. Two CECs covering seven drilling locations have been approved to date, and the Company anticipates that the final two CECs will be approved within the next 30 days. The Company commenced securing the required services to drill the Coroson exploration well.

Reserves evaluation

1. Touchstone announced results of its independent reserves evaluation as at December 31, 2018. Reserve numbers provided herein were derived from an independent reserves report (the “Reserves Report”) prepared by GLJ Petroleum Consultants Ltd. (“GLJ”) effective December 31, 2018.
2. All currency amounts are in United States dollars (“US$”) unless otherwise stated. The financial information contained herein is based on the Company’s unaudited expected results for the year ended December 31, 2018 and is subject to change.
3. 2018 Year-end Reserve Report Highlights
   1.  Increased proved (“1P”) reserves by 5% to 11,222 Mbbl and increased proved plus probable (“2P”) reserves by 4% to 19,275 Mbbl from the prior year.
   2.  Replaced 2018 annual production by 178% on a 1P reserves basis and 218% on a 2P reserves basis.
   3.  Realized an after tax 1P 10% discounted net present value of future net revenues (“NPV”) of $79.8 million, an increase of $12.1 million or 18% from the prior year.
   4.  Achieved an after tax 2P 10% discounted NPV of $145.4 million, representing an increase of 14% from $127.4 million in 2017.
   5.  Future development costs (“FDC”) associated with only a portion of our internally identified drilling location inventory and portfolio of low risk recompletion projects totaled $46.0 million for 1P reserves and $68.6 million for 2P reserves.
   6.  Realized 1P finding, development and acquisition (“FD&A”) costs of $12.71 per barrel, resulting in a 2.2 times recycle ratio using our unaudited annual 2018 operating netback of $27.34 per barrel.
   7.  Achieved 2P FD&A costs of $10.85 per barrel. Using the unaudited annual 2018 estimated operating netback, the 2P FD&A recycle ratio was 2.5 times.
   8.  The Reserves Report included only those reserves associated with development properties and did not include previously announced estimated resources associated with Ortoire exploration block prospects.

James Shipka, Chief Operating Officer, commented: “The updated reserves evaluation validated our strong base production and reflected the results of our successful 2018 development drilling campaign. Solid 2018 reserves growth was achieved from our low decline production base and drilling success. Capital efficiencies seen in our low finding and development costs and strong recycle ratios support our belief in organic growth through the drill bit complemented by low cost recompletions.”

2018 Year-end Reserves Report Summary

Year-end crude reserves were evaluated by independent reserves evaluator GLJ in accordance with definitions, standards and procedures contained in the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation Handbook and National Instrument 51-101 Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities (“NI 51-101”). Additional reserves information as required under NI 51-101 will be included in the Company’s Annual Information Form, which will be filed on SEDAR on or before March 31, 2019. The reserve estimates are based upon GLJ’s Reserve Report dated March 6, 2019 with an effective date of December 31, 2018. All values in this news release are based on GLJ’s forecast prices and estimates of future 2 operating and capital costs as at December 31, 2018.

27 Mar 2019
Touchstone Exploration announced its financial and operating results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2018.

Paul Baay, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“I am pleased to announce that we have delivered a substantial increase in all key performance indicators in 2018, which was a direct result of the hard work and determination demonstrated by our team during a busy operational period. Touchstone became the most active onshore upstream company in Trinidad, as we expanded our original drilling program and hit our initial production milestone of 2,000 bbls/d. We also displayed financial and operational discipline during 2018, allowing us to achieve a 53% annual increase in operating netback.”

“Following the £3.8 million private placement post year-end, Touchstone is funded to commence drilling the first exploration well on our Ortoire block where there is a significant opportunity to achieve a step-change in future reserves and production. We will take a measured approach to our 2019 capital drilling program as we focus on our exploration opportunities.”

Highlights

• • Achieved annual average crude oil production of 1,718 barrels per day (“bbls/d”), a 25% increase relative to the average 1,375 bbls/d produced in 2017.
  • Executed a $19,064,000 development program to drill 11 successful wells, complete nine wells, and perform 28 well recompletions.
  • Increased petroleum sales 53% from the prior year, generating $48,933,000 versus $32,020,000 in 2017.
  • Realized an operating netback of $34.58 per barrel, an increase of 53% from the $22.56 per barrel generated in 2017.
  • Reduced per barrel operating costs by 4% and general and administrative expenses by 3% from the prior year.
  • Generated funds flow from operations of $10,797,000 ($0.08 per share) compared to $3,110,000 ($0.03 per share) realized in 2017.
  • Recognized net earnings of $480,000 ($0.00 per share) compared to a net loss of $947,000 ($0.01 per share) reported in 2017.
  • Exited the year with cash of $4,845,000 (which excluded 2018 crude oil sales of $6,014,000 collected subsequent to year-end) and net debt of $19,527,000, representing 1.8 times net debt to annual 2018 funds flow from operations.
  • Subsequent to year-end, we issued 31,666,667 common shares raising gross proceeds of $6,615,000 to primarily fund an exploration well on our Ortoire block, which is expected to spud in June 2019.

Source: Touchstone Exploration

Range Resources -Debt restructuring and acquisition

18 Mar 2019
Range Resources, an international company with oil and gas projects and oilfield service businesses in Trinidad and Indonesia, announced a comprehensive restructuring of the various payment obligations with LandOcean Energy Services.

Key Highlights:

• • Medium term extension agreed to repayment obligations with no payments of principal or interest due until 2022 at the earliest;
  • US$20 million convertible note extended for a new 3-year term with interest payments only due for repayment at maturity in November 2022. Revised conversion price at a 267% premium to current share price;
  • Reduction in overall outstanding debt of over 20% by a repayment of US$19.7 million of the outstanding balance through issuance of new shares;
  • Refundable deposit of US$2.8 million paid by Range to LandOcean in December 2017 will be utilised in permanent payment towards the outstanding consideration for RRDSL acquisition. The remaining consideration will be extended for a further 3-year period;
  • The completion of the Proposed Debt Restructuring is subject to approval by Range shareholders, approval by LandOcean shareholders (if required) and the completion of a proposed new acquisition;
  • The Board identified a transformational acquisition opportunity to acquire a 49% interest in a pre-school education business operating in China, with due diligence process currently underway (the ‘Proposed Acquisition’);
  • The Proposed Acquisition, if completed, would constitute a reverse takeover under Rule 14 of the AIM Rules that will be subject to a vote of the Company’s shareholders and relevant regulatory approvals; and
  • The Company has requested a suspension of trading in its shares on AIM and ASX with immediate effect pending the publication of an admission document.

Chairman, Kerry Gu, commented:

“We are delighted to have successfully renegotiated our payment obligations with LandOcean and to have secured extension of repayments until 2022 at the earliest. This was our key objective for 2019 and this is an important step for the Company in stabilizing the balance sheet position and positing the business towards growth. I would like to thank both LandOcean and my fellow shareholders for their continued support during this process.

Moreover, we are particularly excited with a potentially transformational acquisition opportunity and I look forward to sharing further details with our shareholders in due course. We will also be undertaking a review of the oil and gas business.

Upon completion of the Proposed Debt Restructuring and the Proposed Acquisition, the Company will have a reduced debt burden, improved working capital and liquidity position and an ability to progress with new opportunities.”

Source: Range Resources

EOG committed to investing

A high-level delegation from EOG Resources informed PM Rowley that it had approved a prospective exploration and production schedule for the next five years.

Their plan includes the deployment of a number of wells for both production and further exploration which is based on their analysis of recent state-of-the-art seismic work.

The EOG team included chairman and chief executive officer William Thomas, executive vice president, exploration and production, Ezra Yacob, exploration and production, vice president and general manager, international, Pat Woods, and George Vieira, managing director, EOG Resources Trinidad Ltd.

Minister of National Security, Stuart Young attended the meeting.

The energy company, the third largest gas producer, reaffirmed its commitment and said notwithstanding the current competitive global environment, they intended to continue investing in this country.

EOG has been operating locally for more than 25 years, and is actively expanding operations and increasing their investment here.

The company met the PM last year, in Houston at the energy company’s headquarters. During this visit, Thomas indicated to Rowley that, “EOG was moving apace to ramp up production and they remain focused on TT.”

Trinidad Petroleum secures new bank loans as bond repayment looms

Trinidad Petroleum Holdings (TPH) is in advanced debt restructuring talks with banks and secured new loans of up to US$1.4bn based on oil reserves to ease a looming US$850m bond maturity in August.

TPH, formerly Petrotrin, is tapping the loan market as it faces the uphill task of convincing investors of the merits of a new business plan and smaller workforce.

The oil producer shut its loss-making refinery in Pointe-a-Pierre last November because of its inability to generate profit, and expects to pay a high interest margin on any new bonds.

TPH will have to pay a high coupon as the company is reorganizing, so the funding should come from the bank market. TPH met rating agencies to outline a plan that prioritizes its more profitable oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) sector over oil refining, previously core to operations. It is essentially a new company, Heritage Petroleum which will oversee the E&P business; Paria Fuel Trading Company; and Guaracara Refining Company – alongside holding company TPH.

The decision to scale back refining is due to the island’s lack of domestically produced crude oil and millions of dollars of capital expenditure required to upgrade the ageing asset.

The refinery was producing 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude, but operated at a capacity to produce 140,000 bpd Petrotrin was importing 100,000 bpd to make up the difference between production and capacity.

Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Panamanian trade bank Banco LatinoAmericano de Comercio Exterior (Bladex), First Citizens Bank and Ansa Merchant Bank are arranging y US$1.2bn-US$1.4bn of loans.
The facilities will finance costs related to closing the refinery, severance pay for the 1,700 direct jobs lost last year and cover the US$850m bullet bond payment. Approximately US$400m was lent on a short-term basis and proceeds were ring-fenced specifically for costs related to closing the refinery and paying retrenched staff.

Morgan Stanley is working with TPH on a liability management exercise to repay, or refinance Petrotrin’s US$850m bond due in August.

TPH is expected to secure this financing with proven oil reserves as collateral but the government which owns TPH is reluctant to guarantee the funds as it may impact its own balance sheet and its investment grade credit rating.

Trinidad & Tobago has a sub-investment grade of Ba1 on its sovereign debt from Moody’s Investors Service, but S&P Global Ratings has the island in high-grade territory at BBB+.

Lenders needed the reserves as a guarantee and Petrotrin cannot get access to this money any other way.

TPH secured working capital credit lines from Caribbean banks including Republic Bank. These short-term lines, valued between US$178m-US$195m in total, are guaranteed by the government.

In another cost-saving measure, TPH has engaged Scotiabank to oversee a sale of its refinery.

The company received expressions of interest from a mix of private investors and strategic oil and gas players.

Parkland, Glencore and even ExxonMobil are potential suitors for the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery. Canadian petroleum products marketer Parkland Fuel Corp gained exposure to the Caribbean in October 2018 when it agreed to buy a 75% stake in SOL Investments for US$1.2bn, accessing oil deposits off the coast of Guyana and neighboring islands.

LONG ROAD AHEAD
Corporate reorganization is its first step back to profitability, but with an US$850m bond payment due in less than six months and US$218.75m outstanding on a note maturing in May 2022, TPH has to act fast to convince investors of a bankable future. It is making progress, cleaning house and has taken some bold steps, but at a slow rate. Restructuring will put the company in a better position.

TPH has the added benefit of government support as the sole distributor of oil products, a key supplier of oil and the island’s major retail gas station network.

TPH, as former Petrotrin, raised US$850m in bonds in August 2009 with a 9.75% coupon to mature in August 2019 and sold US$750m in 15-year paper in May 2007 with a 6% coupon. Both securities have been reallocated under TPH, S&P Global reported on 16 January 2019.

BHP  –  More drilling after gas finds

BHP has stepped up deepwater exploration drilling for natural gas offshore which could supply the country’s Atlantic liquefied natural gas plant in the 2020s.

BHP expects to complete drilling of three wells in Block 14 by the middle of this year, VP for exploration Niall McCormack says at the CERAWeek energy conference.

The company struck gas at the Bongos-2 well last year; BHP is operator of the block with a 70% stake while BP holds the rest.

Atlantic LNG, owned by BP, Shell, China’s sovereign wealth fund CIC and Trinidad’s state-owned company NGC, operates four LNG units with a total capacity of 15M mt/year but has been running below capacity for several years.

Oil and gas for Toco

The north­east re­gion of Trinidad has the po­ten­tial to be­come a gas and oil in­dus­try sim­i­lar to Point Ga­le­o­ta and Guayagua­yare which can pro­vide a bet­ter qual­i­ty of life for cit­i­zens who live be­low the eco­nom­ic pyra­mid.

This was the mes­sage sent to con­stituents of To­co/San­gre Grande at the sod turn­ing cer­e­mo­ny in Va­len­cia of the $196 mil­lion Va­len­cia In­ter­sec­tion to To­co Main Road up­grade which will be un­der­tak­en by LCB Con­trac­tors Ltd, Lutchmesingh Trans­port Ltd and Har­ryper­sad and Sons.

The up­grade is part of 12.4 kilo­me­tres of a road net­work to the pro­posed To­co Port which will pro­vide fish­ing fa­cil­i­ties, a two storey ad­min­is­tra­tive build­ing, a ma­ri­na for 30 plea­sure ves­sels, boat lifts, car­go stor­age, 300-pas­sen­ger wait­ing lounge, ho­tel, cus­toms of­fice and a coast guard fa­cil­i­ty.

The 20-month project com­pris­ing eight pack­ages will be in two phas­es.

Half of the coun­try had lit­tle in­fra­struc­ture and To­co/San­gre Grande was an ex­am­ple. Poli­cies and pro­grammes have to be de­vel­oped to bring them on board.

Op­po­si­tion had ac­cused Gov­ern­ment of wast­ing mon­ey when they award­ed a $400 con­tract to Kall­co for con­struc­tion of the Cu­mu­to to Man­zanil­la High­way, which was tak­en to court by en­vi­ron­men­tal­ist group Fish­er­men and Friends and the Sea which government won in the Privy Coun­cil.

The project did an eco­nom­ic analy­sis on the com­mu­ni­ties in the re­gion with so much promise, at the “bot­tom of the eco­nom­ic pyra­mid” due to lack of de­vel­op­ment and in­fra­struc­ture.

The port and road net­work will cre­ate pos­si­bil­i­ties and jobs, in­crease agri­cul­ture pro­duc­tion for res­i­dents and gen­er­ate tourism.

Once the ac­cess for the land is there the first hur­dle is crossed and the farm­ers will come. Gov­ern­ment will al­so tap in­to na­ture re­serves and forestry in­dus­try.

It will bring ac­cess, very im­por­tant­ly the oil and gas ex­plo­ration that is tak­ing place East of San­gre Grande and East of To­ba­go. Gov­ern­ment will go out to bid for some of the acreages off­shores and be­come as in­volved in the oil and gas in­dus­try as Guayagua­yare and Ga­le­o­ta With drilling tak­ing place off­shore, as the near­est ge­o­graph­i­cal­ly, To­co could eas­i­ly be­come a jump­ing off point to east­ern re­serves . The best part of the ocean is East.

To­co port will be used to ser­vice the seabridge to To­ba­go, which spans 27 miles, us­ing the US $17.4 mil­lion Galleons Pas­sage.

Once the port be­gins op­er­a­tion, the Galleons Pas­sage will sail twice dai­ly, the per­fect trans­porta­tion means to im­prove the seabridge ser­vice, clos­ing the gap be­tween To­ba­go and To­co and be­tween Va­len­cia and Scar­bor­ough

Gas price for NGC

Min­is­ter Stu­art Young says it is wrong to say that the Prime Min­is­ter ne­go­ti­at­ed any gas price, after re­cent claims by “arm­chair ex­perts” that the Na­tion­al Gas Com­pa­ny (NGC) is hav­ing dif­fi­cul­ty pur­chas­ing gas from sup­pli­ers. NGC pur­chas­es gas main­ly from BP, Shell and EOG. In 2015, there was in­suf­fi­cient gas and the Of­fice of the Prime Min­is­ter took a par­tic­u­lar in­ter­est in en­sur­ing the sus­tain­abil­i­ty of the gas sec­tor by re­build­ing re­la­tion­ships with sup­pli­ers. NGC al­so had out­stand­ing ne­go­ti­a­tions with BP, EOG and Shell which placed them in a dif­fi­cult po­si­tion. have af­fect­ed all the big play­ers in Point Lisas.
If NGC and BP did not agree on that gas price in­crease in Hous­ton in 2017 there would have been no more down­stream in­dus­try in Trinidad.

NGC was now pur­chas­ing gas at a high­er price, which has re­sult­ed in the gas be­ing sold at a high­er rate. Gov­ern­ment has al­so been ac­cept­ing a small­er mar­gin from NGC.

All of the share­hold­ers of At­lantic LNG have agreed to con­tin­ue for the next five years the life of Train One.

Island of STEAM

Science, technology, engineering, agriculture and mathematics can thrive at University of the West Indies St Augustine. UWI opened in 1960 with a Faculty of Engineering joining the Imperial College of Agriculture founded in 1922 on the iconic piedmont of Caroni Plain, bounded by majestic mountains and lush highlands.
Funded by the energy industry, the two faculties of applied science had a mandate to disseminate technology to create wealth for development. New faculties were added in arts, humanities and medicine. UTT, NIHERST and Caribbean Academy of Sciences also promote STEAM. UTT has mandate for development with a focus on creative and petrochemical industries as engines of diversification and socioeconomic transformation.
As agriculture declined, food imports rose to TTD 5.6 billion. As state energy operations collapse and crime hinders progress, divestment of state assets can release funds for teaching and research in institutions and support private enterprise underpinning the economy including investment in farming, a key solution. Local Patrons can be included in projects and urged to donate small items. Telephony must be extended after TSTT claims to cover the island with connectivity. Such security is vital for agriculture and geological field trips to forests and coasts.
In consultation with the private sector, state enterprises and government, UWI is updating its vision to help development of the national economy and make it more sustainable through microenterprise.
The UWI team declared“the preconditions for take-off” in innovation and entrepreneurship. “The time has come – and we are ready to take off, to put innovation and entrepreneurship at the forefront of …UWI St Augustine and embedded in the DNA of who we are as a nation. This is in keeping with the UWI’s Triple-A Strategic Plan 2017-2022 .. to propel evolution beyond traditional teaching, learning and research and to enhance its role as a major driver of local and regional innovation and entrepreneurship.”

Initiatives are pegged to a vision of graduates at the forefront of a large, robust foreign-exchange-earning small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, the “Caribbean Mittelstand,” a recognition of the German Mittelstand model, which accounts for 30 per cent of its exports and 60 per cent of its workforce.

Since 2016 UWI examined optimising processes. With a small campus team – led by new Professor of Practice, NGC chairman Gerry Brooks – and in consultation with, and support from, significant private-sector players, UWI successfully mapped an I&E Ecosystem – that better facilitates and motivates the creation of new commercially viable ideas and provides the support to move those ideas into the open economic space through university spin-off companies.

UWI will enhance its current capabilities to direct its burgeoning creative talents to support existing companies in improving products and processes to increase their competitiveness.

The pinnacle of the I&E ecosystem is a company in formation, a strong partnership between the university and the private sector. UWI Ventures will be the holding company for these innovative and entrepreneurial initiatives.

The efforts at St Augustine have been lauded and approved at the highest levels of the university.

Still in the process of rolling out and stress-testing the ecosystem, St Augustine is ready to catalyse change and to be the regional thought leader in innovation and entrepreneurship.

The sustainable future of the campus and the national economy depended on a change in business ethos and a change in the drivers of the economy.

UWI had been fortunate that some business interests had already committed, and tangibly so, to the campus initiative. Plans for construction of an I&E Centre have support from keen private-sector partners who recognise its merit and transformational nature .

A cash­less pay­ment sys­tem will soon be avail­able for mo­torists to buy CNG. It will in­volve a ve­hi­cle man­age­ment sys­tem where a com­put­er chip will be in­stalled on cars con­vert­ed by a li­censed CNG con­vert­er so that the mo­torist can sim­ply pull up to the pump, fill up and leave.

NGC CNG pres­i­dent Cur­tis Mo­hammed an­nounced plans for the cash­less sys­tem at the of­fi­cial open­ing of Hark­ness En­er­gy’s Trad­er James Unipet ser­vice sta­tion in Mc Bean, Cou­va.

The new ser­vice sta­tion is the cul­mi­na­tion of months of plan­ning and col­lab­o­ra­tion be­tween Unipet, NGC and Hark­ness En­er­gy to cre­ate a dif­fer­ent busi­ness mod­el. It is the largest ser­vice sta­tion in the Cou­va area and op­er­ates on a 24-hour ba­sis.

Rahul Ram­per­sad, CEO of Hark­ness En­er­gy, said the project start­ed eight years ago and de­spite bu­reau­crat­ic chal­lenges, the vi­sion had come to fruition. His fo­cus would be on cus­tomer ser­vice to win the hearts of the mo­tor­ing pub­lic. All the staff at the ser­vice sta­tion are from Cou­va and en­vi­rons.

Mo­hammed said four more CNG sta­tions will soon be open­ing at Cyrus Road, El Soc­coro, Munroe Road in Ch­agua­nas, Preysal in Cou­va and O’Meara, Ari­ma. There will be up­grades to sta­tions at Point Fortin, PTSC in Port of Spain, Rush­worth Street and Mt Lam­bert. By the end of this year, 20 CNG sta­tions will be op­er­at­ing . 7000 CNG pow­ered ve­hi­cles are in op­er­a­tion and over 700,000 ve­hi­cles with an av­er­age age of 15 years can ben­e­fit from CNG.

Unipet Chair­man Dr Afraz Ali said the com­pa­ny’s fo­cus re­mains on di­ver­si­fy­ing its of­fer­ings to the pub­lic to re­main prof­itable. Unipet is keep­ing a close eye on the qual­i­ty of the fu­el sup­plied by Paria as there have been con­sid­er­able loss­es due to changes in tem­per­a­ture. The com­pa­ny en­gaged a con­sul­tant and is call­ing for stan­dard tem­per­a­ture ac­count­ing to deal with the loss­es.

Atlantic LNG 4000 cargoes milestone

The Atlantic LNG project in Point Fortin shipped its 4000th milestone cargo on the Gemmata LNG carrier that made its 15th docking at the export plant.

The vessel docked at the plant’s second jetty on March 16 and completed the loading the following day.

Atlantic LNG capable of producing 14.8 mtpa of LNG, is owned by BP, Shell, China’s sovereign wealth fund CIC unit Summer Soca and Trinidad’s NGC.

In November 2018, BP and Shell reached a deal with the government and agreed on the terms for extending the operational life of Atlantic LNG train 1 for at least five years beyond April 2019.

CARIFORUM- UK trade deal

British Trade Policy Minister George Hollingbery signed the CARIFORUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Despite uncertainty over withdrawal from the European Union (EU), a British Government statement said the EPA deal would let Caribbean businesses continue to trade with the UK as they do now, without any additional barriers or tariffs after Brexit.

“It eliminates all tariffs on all goods imported from the signing CARIFORUM States into the UK, while those Caribbean states will continue gradually to cut import tariffs on most of the region’s imports from the UK.” The statement said the UK was a key export market for the Caribbean, buying 100 per cent of St Lucia’s banana exports and 69 per cent of Belize’s, plus 81 per cent of Guyana’s sugar export and 64 per cent of Jamaica’s.

Trinidad time- late as usual

(see Caricom page for update)

Breaking-

Trinidad signed the EPA on 1 April in London, presumably by the High Commissioner, although the PM gave priority to Venezuela, visiting Washington and Uruguay. This landmark is not on the government website

The NAPARIMA MP accused the Government of missing the boat to sign the new trade deal between Caribbean nations and the UK for after Brexit

“Trinidad and Tobago was notably absent. This means that, unlike these countries, we do not have a post Brexit strategy to ensure that our preferential trade arrangements are maintained, if and when Britain leaves the EU.”

Once again, this PNM Government was not at the table for an important deal. “The purpose of the agreement is to safeguard the continuation of trade between the Caribbean region and the UK. This is all part of the path to continue growing the economies, creating jobs and increasing incomes.” He accused the Government of “a complete lack of preparedness.”

In 2016 the Prime Minister said there was nothing to be caught flat-footed about on Brexit, “So we have no strategy to deal with the EU, our trade agreements with the OECD are languishing in JSC (joint select committee) and the future of our trade agreements with Britain are uncertain. Does this PNM regime not realise the importance of finalising a post Brexit plan ahead of time? It is clear that PM Rowley and his ministers are all clueless and cannot comprehend the consequences of not having an effective system in place for post Brexit aftermaths.”

While other Caricom nations were proactive, Brexit was not even on this Government’s radar. “Will they scamper to secure our trade agreements post Brexit? Rowley and his Government need to focus their attentions away from blaming the Opposition and towards acting in the best interest of TT and ensuring that our trade agreements with Britain will survive Brexit.”

Scorched Earth Policy

The EU gave Technical Assistance to the Environment Programme. Listed as the most vulnerable communities with oil fields, farms, universities and the capital are Claxton Bay, Tunapuna-Piarco, Penal/Debe, Couva/Talparo, Siparia, Port of Spain, Sangre Grande, Mayaro, Guayaguayare, Manzanilla. The ODPM withheld $20 million for flood victims so humanitarians were forced to mobilise lifeboats for relief while a ruthless regime splashed $142 million on Carnival and gives arable land to a tiny cult for a cathedral . On the anniversary of the 1970 upheaval the murder toll reached 134.

Femicide, homicide, VAW and child abuse mount daily as the ravaged island spirals into the circles of hell during the holy season of Lent. Pusillanimous Christian authorities must act in the wake of hubris and hostility towards the world’s largest economy which originated in 1955 with the immoral founder of the ruling party, still surviving on foreign investment, its fingerprints on every failure spanning the confounded Caribbean Commission, zombie West Indies Federation and the bureaucratic inertia of Caricom , with one foot in the grave of the Bolivarian pandemonium.. Felons roam free because legislators marginalise ordinary citizens.

One mitigating move can reverse the descent into doom as the Commonwealth collapses with Brexit. Opposition leaders can strike while the iron is hot to seek new status as an unincorporated territory of USA and apply to Congress with help from the envoy in Port of Spain. The USA offered free trade to Brexited UK , a precedent and model for the future of the island. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.. The clock is ticking as the existential threat to multinational states embraces Guyana amid the oil bonanza.

A referendum at the 2020 ballot can seek public views. Under the wing of the American Eagle, isolation and recession will end with access to investment, innovation and technology for progress and development after the industrial and agricultural meltdown. TRINEXIT is the only choice at a dangerous crossroad – sinking down the drain of a Caricom cacotpia or jumping ship to the Land of the free and Home of the brave.