Shell profit down

Cacadura-1ST1 production testing commenced on February 4, 2020, with the first stage testing the lower most 162 feet of a total of 777 feet of identified pay in the Herrera formation.

• Average flowback rate during the final 14-hour test period was 5,180 barrels of oil equivalent per day (‘boe/d’), including 26.9 million cubic feet per day (‘MMcf/d’) of natural gas and 694 barrels per day (‘bbls/d’) of natural gas liquids.
• Peak flowback rate of 5,736 boe/d, including 30.2 MMcf/d of natural gas and 710 bbls/d of natural gas liquids.
• A total of 28.6 million cubic feet of gas (4,770 barrels of oil equivalent) and 680 barrels of natural gas liquids were produced during the testing period.
• Field analysis indicated liquids rich gas with no hydrogen sulfide and no produced water.

The well is expected to be shut-in for a two-week pressure build-up test, following which we anticipate completing and testing an additional 450 feet of identified pay.
Paul Baay, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented:

‘The Cascadura production test results represent a dramatic change for Touchstone, as it confirms the monumental resource potential of the Ortoire exploration block following the earlier success of our Coho-1 well. Furthermore, the test results are only attributable to the lower most portion of the well, and with 450 feet of contiguous sand to be tested, the full potential of the structure is yet to be defined.

To put these results in context, our average daily oil production for the three months ended September 30, 2019 was 1,729 bbls/d. The modelling from the final test results at Coho-1 supports initial gross production rates between 10 to 12 MMcf/d per day (approximately 1,667 to 2,000 boe/d) with Cascadura now set to provide a further step change.

Given these results, the Company will focus on multiple tie-in scenarios in order to maximize economic value. The Ortoire exploration block continues to consistently and dramatically outperform expectations and presents an exciting new opportunity for both Touchstone and the onshore oil and gas industry in Trinidad.’

Cascadura-1ST1 Testing

As previously announced, the Cascadura-1 exploration well on the Ortoire exploration block, onshore in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (Touchstone 80% working interest operator, Heritage Petroleum Company Limited 20% working interest) was sidetracked (ST1) and drilled to a total depth of 6,350 feet.

Cased hole wireline logs and drilling samples indicated approx. 1,037 feet of prospective hydrocarbon pay in the Cruse and Herrera formations at depths between 1,030 and 6,350 feet. The first stage of the initial production test of the Cascadura-1ST1 well was designed to evaluate the lowest 162 feet of prospective pay found in the Herrera Gr7c and Herrera Gr7a formations between 6,056 and 6,218 feet.

This interval was completed on January 17, 2020, and testing was suspended due to high pressures and natural gas volumes encountered on the clean-up flow.

The Company subsequently mobilized an international well testing company to assist in the evaluation of the high-pressure natural gas well. Natural gas production testing commenced on February 4, 2020 with flow tests spanning a total of 36 hours, comprised of an initial clean-up flow period, followed by an initial shut-in period and a four-step rate test, including a final 14-hour extended flow test.

Cascadura-1ST1 achieved a peak production rate in excess of 5,736 boe/d during the extended flow test period. This production rate included 30.2 MMcf/d of natural gas and 710 bbls/d of natural gas liquids.

The flowing pressure of the well during this stage of testing was 3,305 psi through a 40/64″ choke. During the final 14-hour extended flow test period, the well averaged a production rate in excess of 5,180 boe/d including 26.9 MMcf/d of natural gas and 694 bbls/d of natural gas liquids. The flowing pressure of the well during this test period was 3,319 psi through a 40/64″ choke, resulting in an estimated 20% draw down. A total of 28.6 million cubic feet of natural gas (4,770 barrels of oil equivalent) was produced during testing, with 680 barrels of natural gas liquids and 38 barrels of water.

During the final extended flow test, Cascadura-1ST1 yielded an average of 54° API natural gas liquids at a ratio of approximately 26 barrels of free natural gas liquids per million cubic feet of natural gas produced. Field analysis of the produced gas indicated liquids rich natural gas with no hydrogen sulfide content. Additional testing of fluid samples will be conducted to accurately assess the gas and associated liquids composition.

The well is now expected to be shut-in for an extended pressure build-up survey. This build-up period is anticipated to take two weeks, after which the Company plans to complete and test the second stage of the Herrera Gr7bc formation targeting approximately 450 feet of pay immediately above the first test interval.

James Shipka, Chief Operating Officer, commented:

‘The exceptional performance of the initial Cascadura test demonstrates the tremendous potential of the high-quality Herrera turbidites on the Ortoire block. The Coho and Cascadura discoveries have proven our turbidite model and indicate that the main sand fairway extends through a large portion of the Ortoire block. These discoveries provide further confidence as we move forward with two further exploration wells at our Chinook and Royston prospects which are targeting separate structures along the same geological trend.’

Source: Touchstone Exploration

Touchstone Exploration drilling ahead in Trinidad

Two rigs to drill two onshore wells simultaneously, chief executive said

By Caroline Evans in Port of Spain

Canadian junior Touchstone Exploration plans to accelerate the drilling of two more wells onshore Trinidad and Tobago following successful results from a pair of initial wells last year.

Natural gas companies have a crucial role in the energy transition

IEA’s World Energy Outlook special report on the role of the oil and gas industry in the energy transition comes to a clear conclusion. Although a successful transition to low carbon energy sources is possible without the involvement of the traditional energy players, a transition of this kind would be more difficult and more costly to achieve.

For oil and gas companies determined to play a part, the steps that need to be taken are challenging but clear-cut. Capital expenditure in low carbon projects, which currently makes up about 5% of the leading oil & gas companies’ annual budget allocation, needs to be substantially increased.

Emissions from existing operations must also be accounted for and dealt with. This is a “first-order priority for all”, the IEA argues. Fossil fuels will still be a key element of the energy mix for decades, and while they are, it is imperative that the climate impact of methane emissions and flaring are minimised.

Another takeaway is the IEA’s reminder that electricity, though an increasingly significant part of the energy system, is still only part of the solution to the problem of global emissions. Investments in hydrogen, biomethane and other low carbon fuels will be needed to decarbonise the many applications for which electrification is not a suitable fix.

By drawing attention to the positive role that the oil & gas industry can play in the energy transition, the report anticipates some of the central themes that will drive the discussion at Flame 2020, Europe’s largest gas and LNG conference

For the past several years, Flame has provided a vital platform for the natural gas industry to confront the key challenges involved with the transition – in particular, how to decarbonise gas infrastructure and meet rising global demand for energy in the process.

The 2020 agenda brings a renewed focus to the technologies needed to reduce emissions from the gas system, including power-to-gas, blue hydrogen, biomethane and CCUS.

Day two of the conference is entirely focused on decarbonisation, with discussions ranging from the implications of the European Green Deal to the impact of the energy transition on gas storage. Similar issues will also be explored at the Energy Transition World Forum and Biogas Development Forum, both co-located with Flame.

It is more important than ever that the gas industry has a venue to collaborate on these issues in 2020. The largest and most influential European event of its kind, Flame will continue to be the conference gas professionals turn to in order to understand the role of their industry in the transition to a carbon neutral future.

[  We hope you can join us in Amsterdam from 11 – 13 May to share your perspective. You can find out more about Flame here: http://bit.ly/38QeA4V  ]

The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinions of LNG World News.

UTT president resigns

PROF Sarim Al-Zubaidy resigned as president of the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), after days of rumours circulating.

Asked to comment on a memo in his name which was e-mailed to media houses, Al-Zubaidy said, “If it is there, it is there.”

Asked if he was resigning prematurely ahead of the date in August when his contract reportedly expires, Al-Zubaidy said everything he wanted to say was contained in the memo.

When Newsday asked why he was resigning and what his future plans are, he repeated his previous answer.

His tenure will have run for two and a half years, from August 7, 2017 to February 25, 2020.

That period was marked by the retrenchment of several hundred academic and non-academic staff in light of restructuring brought on by calls to cut costs.

Staff were retrenched in several rounds, amid claims this might lower teaching quality and deny some staff a procedural fairness in dismissal.

A citizen of Iraq, Al-Zubaidy has a PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Hertfordshire and has worked in Oman, Kazakstan, UAE, New Zealand, Malaysia, Australia, Jamaica and the UK.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia said that before he could comment on the resignation, he understood UTT acting chairman Prof Clement Imbert first wants to speak to UTT chairman Prof Ken Julien, who is out of the country.

Al-Zubaidy’s memo, titled Tender of Resignation, was dated January 14 and addressed to all members of staff.

In it he said, “I wish to inform the university community that I have officially tendered my resignation as President of UTT effective March 31.

“However I will be proceeding on vacation leave and my final day in office will be February 25.”

He commented on his tenure,

“I see a young university that has the potential to further evolve into a well-respected, well-established tertiary institution that can play a pivotal role in the development of the human resources of the country and the region. Indeed we have been able to surmount the many challenges, but they have only served to steer us on the right path towards providing quality tertiary education and research for the advancement of TT.”

Al-Zubaidy said he has had the pleasure to work with some of the most brilliant academic minds and to witness the university’s innate talent and vitality.

“I am confident these qualities will serve the university in good stead as it continues forward in the pursuit of excellence.”

He extended a gracious farewell to university staff and best wishes in their future endeavours, and to the Student Guild whose tireless work he said had created a student-centred environment. “Finally I wish to extend a thank you to the chairman and members of the board of governors of UTT for allowing me the opportunity to dutifully serve this national institution with pride. I wish you all the very best as you transition into the new phase of UTT.”

PET

Dis­cus­sions continue be­tween gov­ern­ment team and Pa­tri­ot­ic En­er­gies and Tech­nolo­gies Com­pa­ny Ltd and oth­er stake­hold­ers

Backed by OWTU Pension funds PET is the pre­ferred bid­der for Pointe-a-Pierre re­fin­ery. They were ac­com­pa­nied to the talks with the eval­u­a­tion com­mit­tee and a Cab­i­net sub-com­mit­tee com­pris­ing of Stu­art Young as Min­is­ter in the Of­fice of the Prime Min­is­ter, Robert Le Hunte, Min­is­ter of Pub­lic Util­i­ties and Franklin Khan, Min­is­ter of En­er­gy and En­er­gy In­dus­tries (MEEI), by their in­ter­na­tion­al ad­vis­ers.

The Min­istry of En­er­gy de­scribed the meet­ing as “very pro­duc­tive,” say­ing the main ob­jec­tive “be­ing the restart of the re­fin­ery.”

The next steps, are the “es­tab­lish­ment of ded­i­cat­ed teams on both sides to achieve this man­date as well as a de­tailed in­spec­tion of the as­sets in the trans­ac­tion. As we seek to fi­nalise the trans­ac­tion there would be con­tin­ued di­a­logue be­tween all par­ties with a view to achiev­ing restart of the re­fin­ery with­in the ear­li­est pos­si­ble time­frame which would re­dound to the ben­e­fit of the cit­i­zens of T&T.”

Titan prepares to close

The cri­sis at the Point Lisas In­dus­tri­al Es­tate is escalat­ing with the planned shut­down of the Ti­tan Methanol plant if it is un­able to reach an agree­ment with the NGC for the sup­ply of nat­ur­al gas.

Plans are in place for the plant’s clo­sure and moth­balling be­cause af­ter a year of ne­go­ti­a­tions with the NGC and hav­ing spent more than a quar­ter bil­lion dol­lars last year in an up­grade, Methanex can­not reach an agree­ment with the State ag­gre­ga­tor.

If the plant clos­es 100 high-paid per­ma­nent em­ploy­ees will be axed with an­oth­er 40 con­tract work­ers al­so get­ting their pink slips.

It will al­so mean a loss of tens of mil­lions of US dol­lars for the trea­sury should the plant close.

There are last-minute ef­forts by the regime, the NGC and the com­pa­ny to avert the sit­u­a­tion but that looks grim.

It would be the sec­ond plant in two months to close after Yara shut down its plant oust­ing work­ers be­cause it could not pay the price the NGC is de­mand­ing for its gas.

In the last four years, thou­sands of work­ers in the en­er­gy sec­tor have lost their jobs.

En­er­gy Min­is­ter Franklin Khan in­sist­ed ne­go­ti­a­tions are still on­go­ing and it is not a done deal, re­spond­ing to the fol­low­ing ques­tions –

• • Is the Gov­ern­ment con­cerned about the pos­si­bil­i­ty that an­oth­er plant will be shut down on the es­tate?
  • Is it that the up­stream con­tracts have to be rene­go­ti­at­ed be­cause the down­stream sim­ply can­not pay for gas at those new prices?
  • Is it that the clo­sure of these plants will make no dif­fer­ence since oth­er in­dus­tries can sus­tain these high­er prices?
  • Do you ex­pect more clo­sures?

Khan said, “It is in­ap­pro­pri­ate to com­ment on Ti­tan’s ac­tion when we are still in ac­tive ne­go­ti­a­tions with Methanex. This will be spec­u­la­tion at the mo­ment. Ti­tan has made a pub­lic state­ment that there is an in­ter­im agree­ment in place to al­low the par­ties to con­tin­ue ne­go­ti­a­tions. This is ob­vi­ous­ly with a view to ar­riv­ing at an agree­ment and to par­ties con­tin­ue to work dili­gent­ly to­wards that re­sult.”

At the heart of the prob­lem is the price that the NGC wants to charge the down­stream com­pa­nies for gas. Petro­chem­i­cal com­pa­nies have been say­ing that the high­er prices will mean they op­er­ate at a loss, with glob­al prices for both methanol and am­mo­nia weak.

It is al­so a po­si­tion pre­dict­ed in a study by econ­o­mist Dr Ter­rence Far­rell who found that the sus­tain­abil­i­ty of the down­stream petro­chem­i­cal sec­tor is un­der threat be­cause of un­com­pet­i­tive nat­ur­al gas prices. Nat­ur­al gas short­ages and high prices led to a re­duc­tion in methanol and am­mo­nia pro­duc­tion and loss of jobs in the sec­tor. Un­less there is a change in pol­i­cy, the sec­tor will get to a point of no re­turn and there will be a col­lapse of the Point Lisas In­dus­tri­al Es­tate.

NGC Chair­man Con­rad Enill in­sist­ed that the ne­go­ti­a­tions are on­go­ing but com­pa­nies need­ed to ask them­selves how some can sur­vive at the high­er prices- a clear shot at Methanex and Yara as op­posed to Nu­trien which reached an agree­ment on new prices with the NGC.

Enill said, “We have con­tracts that we have signed with in­di­vid­u­als out­side of Yara, and they are able to do what some oth­ers are not do­ing, so the ques­tion is what are com­pa­nies do­ing and how are com­pa­nies po­si­tion­ing in the same en­vi­ron­ment that some can sur­vive and some can­not. Those are ques­tions that they need to an­swer. The is­sue with the Ti­tan plant is the mod­el and they have to ex­plain that to you.”

NGC is a busi­ness that buys and sells gas and can on­ly sell at a prof­it. The coun­try is in a po­si­tion where the en­er­gy sec­tor and cir­cum­stances in the en­er­gy busi­ness have changed.

When it was point­ed out that the change had now made the NGC gas prices un­com­pet­i­tive glob­al­ly, Enill re­spond­ed, “NGC, like every­body else, is work­ing to see how it can mit­i­gate those is­sues and how it can, in fact, con­tin­ue to en­sure that those who can do it will do it, and that is the ba­sic is­sue.”

Enill was asked if there is a need to rene­go­ti­ate the deal with the up­stream com­pa­nies that was fa­cil­i­tat­ed by the prime min­is­ter and which both En­er­gy Min­is­ter Khan and Na­tion­al Se­cu­ri­ty Min­is­ter Stew­art Young prais­ed as the fa­mous Hous­ton trip, but he denied ne­go­ti­at­ing the agree­ment, say­ing he mere­ly fa­cil­i­tat­ed the re­turn to the bar­gain­ing ta­ble of the up­stream com­pa­nies and the NGC.

NGC will al­ways be look­ing to see how it can en­sure that the in­dus­try con­tin­ues to be main­tained but there are things that the NGC can do and there are things that oth­ers have to do. “The is­sue of plants shut­ting down has noth­ing to do with the NGC. It has to do with the glob­al out­look for prices which you have looked at. The out­look for prices for am­mo­nia and methanol—what are they over the next two to three years? That is the is­sue.”

NGC was earn­ing bil­lions of dol­lars in the past, now down to hun­dreds of mil­lions.

CEO of the En­er­gy Cham­ber Dr Dax Dri­ver said the cham­ber was con­cerned that Point Lisas is un­der threat.

“The En­er­gy Cham­ber con­tin­ues to be con­cerned about the fu­ture of Point Lisas and there are is­sues which need to be re­solved in or­der to en­sure the con­tin­ued com­pet­i­tive­ness and sus­tain­abil­i­ty of the in­dus­try.”

The nat­ur­al gas mas­ter plan has ad­vised that am­mo­nia and methanol earn more mon­ey for the coun­try per mol­e­cule of gas than LNG.

NGC is in ne­go­ti­a­tion with Methanol Hold­ings, Trin­gen and Methanex for over a year now and no agree­ment has been reached with ei­ther of those com­pa­nies with the petro­chem­i­cal com­pa­nies say­ing the terms are too dif­fi­cult to live with.

The Ti­tan plant is 20 years old and is con­sid­ered a young plant by in­ter­na­tion­al stan­dards.

2000 ex-workers await compensation from Petrotrin

One year since SOC Petrotrin closed its doors in November 2018, approximately 2000 workers are still awaiting proper compensation packages from the company.

Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) – the representing union for the workers, and Petrotrin representatives went to the Industrial Court, San Fernando to have these unresolved matters addressed.

The union is bent on ensuring the workers are treated fairly and has also filed similar matters before the High Court on their behalf.

First vice president of the union, Ricky Benny, and representatives from six of the bargaining units which represented workers in the former oil company, prayed before entering the Irving Street court for a preliminary case-management hearing with Petrotrin before the registrar.

Consultant, Harrison Thompson, took lead role in presenting the union’s side of the matter to the court. There was no information regarding the company’s team.

Benny said a grave injustice was done to approximately 2000 workers – casual, temporary and permanent – and the union will take an aggressive approach to ensure workers get their just due.

Units represented workers across the entire Petrotrin assets from Penal, Forest Reserve, Santa Flora, Pointe-a-Pierre, Trinmar including those previously working in the hospital services.

“We are dealing with all matters regarding the closure of Petrotrin, from pensions to medical and incorrect calculations of termination benefits. There are members who did not receive any items.”

After the case management phase, the next step will be to file evidence and arguments and set a date for hearing. Benny said the union is hoping to secure a victory for all workers to get the compensation they are entitled to. Since the closure, life has been very difficult for most of the workers who are still unable to find jobs. Benny blamed this on the “stereotyping of oil workers as highly paid and lazy. These stereotypes affected workers to the point where they still can’t get jobs. The market is very tight.”

Workers are hopeful the union’s Patriotic Energies and Technologies Co, which Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Limited has offered to operate the refinery, will be able to absorb some of their unemployed members. Asked for an update on the progress of that arrangement, Benny said OWTU’s president general Ancel Roget will address that issue.

Opportunities in Guyana with its discoveries is also an option for some members to pursue.

Modern Trinidad & Tobago was built on Oil…

….but over 60,000 jobs were lost since 2015.

One of the largest mass re­trench­ments was that of 5,500 Petrotrin per­ma­nent and tem­po­rary em­ploy­ees when the re­fin­ery was shut down on No­vem­ber 30, 2018.

In his na­tion­al ad­dress to the na­tion“It’s Your Busi­ness” on Jan­u­ary 7, 2019, the Prime Min­is­ter said 20,000 peo­ple had lost their jobs in since 2015. Since then, more peo­ple have become unemployed with 178 workers at Unilever Caribbean Ltd (UCL) shed in De­cem­ber 2019.

Da­ta from the Cen­tral Sta­tis­ti­cal Of­fice (CSO) con­tained in the Cen­tral Bank of T&T’s Mon­e­tary Pol­i­cy Re­port of May 2019, confirm the un­em­ploy­ment rate in­creased to 4.8 per cent in 2017—the high­est rate since 2012—from 4.0 per cent in 2016.

Dur­ing 2017, the num­ber of peo­ple em­ployed fell by just un­der 10,000 while the labour force con­tract­ed by 4,600 peo­ple. This re­sult­ed in a small de­cline in the par­tic­i­pa­tion rate from 59.7 per cent in 2016 to 59.2 per cent in 2017

In the ab­sence of of­fi­cial un­em­ploy­ment da­ta for 2018, re­trench­ment no­tices filed with the Min­istry of Labour and Small En­ter­prise De­vel­op­ment in­di­cate that re­trench­ments were high­er by over 53.2 per cent (ex­clud­ing the lay­offs due to the clo­sure of the Petrotrin oil re­fin­ery) in 2018.

In Jan­u­ary-May 2019 re­trench­ments con­tin­ued to rise—631 peo­ple com­pared with 412 peo­ple in the sim­i­lar pe­ri­od in 2018. Fur­ther, the av­er­age num­ber of va­can­cies ad­ver­tised in the print me­dia fell by 11.7 per cent (year-on-year) over the first five months of 2019.

Econ­o­mist Roger Ho­sein said “The lat­est of­fi­cial labour mar­ket sta­tis­tics from the CSO in­di­cate that the un­em­ploy­ment rate de­clined to 3.8 per cent dur­ing the first half of 2018 com­pared with 4.9 per cent dur­ing the same pe­ri­od of 2017. On a year-on-year ba­sis, to­tal em­ploy­ment fell by 900 per­sons, while the labour force con­tract­ed by 8,500 per­sons. This re­sult­ed in a de­cline in the labour force par­tic­i­pa­tion rate to 58.7 per cent over the first half of 2018 com­pared with 59.7 per cent dur­ing the cor­re­spond­ing pe­ri­od of 2017. The con­tin­ued de­cline in the labour force par­tic­i­pa­tion rate is a source of con­cern since this has im­pli­ca­tions for fu­ture eco­nom­ic prospects.”

The 3.8 per cent un­em­ploy­ment rate in 2018 was very low, since 2003 it had has been be­low ten per cent on av­er­age. Since 2012 the un­em­ploy­ment rate on av­er­age per an­num had not crossed five per cent, a re­mark­able sta­tis­tic; on pa­per, it was one of the best in the world.

What was alarm­ing about the T&T econ­o­my case was the fall over time in its labour force par­tic­i­pa­tion rate which stood at 63.9 per cent in 2006 and col­lapsed to 58 per cent by 2018. The State made the tremen­dous er­ror in the last 15 years of be­ing too heav­i­ly in­volved in the labour mar­ket and ba­si­cal­ly starved the pri­vate sec­tor for work­ers. While the pri­vate sec­tor was ex­pand­ing, it was ex­pand­ing main­ly in the ser­vices sec­tor. The State want­ed to ex­pand in the non-en­er­gy ex­port sec­tor, so the econ­o­my de­vel­oped se­ri­ous struc­tur­al im­bal­ances that need­ed to be ad­dressed.

One of the most wor­ry­ing as­pects of the labour mar­ket da­ta trends in re­cent times was the sharp de­cline in the em­ploy­ment of pe­tro­le­um and gas sec­tor work­ers—this col­lapsed from 21,300 in 2014 to 12,600 in June 2018.

The pe­tro­le­um sec­tor was a high­ly com­pet­i­tive high hu­man cap­i­tal sec­tor and the loss of 40 per cent of the em­ployed labour force was a fright­en­ing even­tu­al­i­ty as these skills if they were lost or mi­grat­ed to near­by Guyana, Suri­name or else­where will take time to be re­built.

Pol­i­cy mak­ers would want to en­sure that by the time the Ru­by field comes on-stream with BHP Bil­li­ton in 2023, that the sec­tor was not fur­ther starved for work­ers with the rel­e­vant skill-sets.

Such a massacre of occupations underlies the epidemic of domestic violence against women and children, drug-trafficking, armed gangs and vice, aggravated by the influx of Venezuelan refugees

Com­pa­nies that laid-off work­ers from 2015-2019

• • Arcelor­Mit­tal shed 600 work­ers on De­cem­ber 2015 and 800 con­tract work­ers ear­li­er that year
  • 200 TMS In­ter­na­tion­al Cor­po­ra­tion work­ers were dismissed in 2015
  • Cen­tral Trinidad Steel Lim­it­ed (Cen­trin) terminated 200 work­ers on Feb­ru­ary 2016.
  • Over 800 Con­stru­to­ra OAS work­ers were eliminated on March 2016
  • Caribbean De­vel­op­ment Com­pa­ny which pro­duces Carib beer axed 15 work­ers on May 2016
  • 66 work­ers of roof­ing pro­duc­er, GGI Trinidad Lim­it­ed were discharged on Au­gust 2016
  • Over 100 work­ers of the Tourism De­vel­op­ment Com­pa­ny were re­trenched on Au­gust 2017
  • 16 work­ers at the Trinidad Ce­ment Lim­it­ed (TCL) were ousted on Sep­tem­ber 2018
  • Pe­tro­le­um mar­ket­ing and whole­sal­ing com­pa­ny Unipet evicted sev­en su­per­vi­sors in Oc­to­ber 2018
  • 5,500 Petrotrin per­ma­nent and tem­po­rary/ca­su­al em­ploy­ees were fired when the re­fin­ery closed on No­vem­ber 30, 2018
  • TSTT re­trenched over 500 work­ers on No­vem­ber 15, 2018
  • 99 non-aca­d­e­m­ic staff at the Uni­ver­si­ty of TT (UTT) re­ceived sep­a­ra­tion let­ters on Au­gust 2019
  • 178 Unilever Caribbean Ltd (UCL) work­ers were axed in De­cem­ber 2019.

Trinidad nixes gas deal with Venezuela over U.S. sanctions

Feb. 3, 2020

Trinidad PM: Dragon project stalled on US sanctions

Trinidad and Tobago says it canceled an agreement with Venezuela for the joint development of the Loran-Manatee natural gas field straddling their maritime border because of U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s PDVSA state energy company.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Rowley, says the two countries will now independently develop the 10T cf shallow-water field.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) holds a 60% interest in the Loran field, with the remainder held by PDVSA, while Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) owns a 100% interest in the Manatee field.

Separately, the four liquefaction trains that comprise Trinidad and Tobago’s Atlantic complex will operate as a single unit under a restructuring agreed by the government and shareholders led by Shell and BP that will boost the government’s income from LNG exports.

The deal signed in 2018 would have allowed  Trinidad &Tobago  to process natural gas from shallow-water Dragon field off Venezuela.

BHP preps Trinidad drilling

Well marks end of BHP commitment on licence, company said.  BHP plans to drill an exploration well on its southern licences off Trinidad and Tobago later this year pending “investment processes”, a company official told Upstream.

The Australian operator has secured the Transocean drillship Deepwater Invictus

McDermott lands Ruby subsea contract off Trinidad

BHP has contracted McDermott International Inc. to provide subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines, transportation and installation, pre-commissioning of one jacket and topsides for the Ruby oil and gas project offshore Trinidad and Tobago.

The DLV 2000 will transport and install the flowlines and platform at the Ruby field offshore Trinidad and Tobago.

The Ruby field is in block 3(a) about 28 mi (45 km) offshore northeastern Trinidad.

Engineering and project management will be performed in Houston with engineering support from the company’s Mexico City office.

The project will begin immediately and is expected to be completed in August 2020.

(Courtesy McDermott)

Columbus Energy announces first injection of CO2 in the Trinity Inniss field

27 Jan 2020

Columbus Energy, the oil and gas producer and explorer focused on onshore Trinidad and Suriname, has announced the first injection of CO2 in the Trinity Inniss field, onshore Trinidad.

Leo Koot, Executive Chairman of Columbus, commented:

‘The Company has successfully injected the first tranche of CO2 in the Trinity Inniss field. The CO2 project is an important enhanced oil recovery project for both the Company and Trinidad. I look forward to updating the market as to the results of the CO2 pilot project in due course.’

Background – Trinity Inniss CO2 Project

the term of the Trinity Inniss Incremental Production Service Contract (‘IPSC’) has been extended to allow for the implementation of the CO2 Pilot Project.

The Company has now injected the first tank CO2 into well AT5X in the Trinity Inniss field and will over time contribute to the determination of any impact on enhancement of production in offset wells to AT5X. The Company and Predator, its joint venture partner, will proceed to continuous injection of CO2 as is required to fully evaluate the potential of CO2 injection to increase oil production from the offset wells.

The  Company’s interest in the Trinity Inniss field benefits from an agreement with Predator Oil and Gas, whereby Predator will help plan and fund the CO2 EOR Pilot Project. As part of agreement with Predator, Predator has the right (until 30 September 2020) to purchase the Company’s interest in the Trinity Inniss field for US$4.2m.

Original article link

Source: Columbus Energy

Columbus Energy to test Saffron well – South West Peninsula

24 Jan 2020

Columbus Energy announced the following operational update regarding the Saffron well, onshore Trinidad:

· Completion of the interpretation of the Saffron cased hole logging, with the result supporting the completion and testing of the Saffron well in February 2020; and
· Submission of a Saffron Well Test application to the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries.
Leo Koot, Executive Chairman of Columbus, commented:

‘The Company has now completed the interpretation of the cased hole logging for the Lower Cruse portion Saffron well. The interpretation for the Upper Cruse and Middle Cruse are expected shortly. The logging does not materially alter the Company’s previous announcement that the Company has drilled multiple sand packages with high sandstone content and multiple oil shows to Total Depth (‘TD’). The interpretation of the logging gives the Company comfort that it should proceed with the completion and testing of the well. Indeed, the only way to be certain and to evaluate the geological and economic potential of the prospective oil sands is to conduct a flow test – which can be done in relatively short order. We have submitted the well test proposal to the Ministry and, subject to Ministry approval, we would expect to commence the testing in February 2020. I am conscious that we would have liked more concrete results from the logging but the geology of the South West Peninsula and its effect on the tools available to us to log the Saffron well do not provide that level of certainty. The best way to evaluate Saffron is to complete and test the well, which we are in the course of doing.’

Saffron Well Completion and Testing

The Company has now completed the interpretation of the cased hole logging for the Lower Cruse portion of the Saffron well.

The interpretation for the Upper Cruse and Middle Cruse (the tertiary and secondary targets) are expected shortly.

The Company is currently focussing on its primary target, the Lower Cruse as, per Ministry requirements, any testing and production must first be from the deepest possible stratigraphic level.

Cased hole logs for the Lower Cruse confirm the presence of sand in line with the cuttings descriptions and the cased hole sigma log response suggests the presence of hydrocarbons within those sands. The logs are not definitive as to the water/oil ratio within those sands and the Company believes that flow testing, rather than any further logging, is the best way of evaluating the geological and economic potential of the Lower Cruse.

The Company is targeting three (3) horizons for testing. The horizons lie between: (i) 4236 feet and 4244 feet; (ii) 3937 feet and 3947 feet; and (iii) 3760 feet and 3768 feet, respectively. The Company believes that each of these horizons are the tops of larger sand packages. The objective of these tests is to prove an oil filled reservoir. If this objective is met, the Company intends to perforate the larger sand packages to maximise water free production.

The Company has submitted to the Ministry a well test program to perforate and test the well. The Company expects this testing to occur, subject to Ministry approval, in February 2020.

Background

The Saffron well was drilled in the Bonasse licence area in the South West Peninsula of Trinidad, which includes the Bonasse field. The Company is the 100% owner of the Bonasse licence area.

The Saffron well is the first well drilled by Columbus ERP as well as the first well within the Southwest Peninsula in over 11 years.

Source: Columbus Energy

Trinity Exploration & Production  Q4 2019 Operational Update; Strong Financial Performance 

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Trinity Exploration & Production plc  (“Trinity” or “the Group” or “the Company”)

Q4 2019 Operational Update

Strong Financial Performance Underpinned by Production Growth

Trinity, the independent E&P company focused on Trinidad and Tobago, today provides an update on its operations for the three-month period ended 31 December 2019 (“Q4 2019” or “the period”). During the period, Trinity continued to focus on growing production, generating free cash flow and protecting the business from downside risk.

The continued growth in production achieved during the period was underpinned by optimising production from existing wells and by the drilling of six new wells in the second half of 2019. The full impact of this drilling campaign has generated a strong start to Q1 2020 with all six wells now on stream and contributing to an exit production rate of almost 3,400 bopd during December 2019.

The Company ended Q4 with a year on year increase in cash balances, no debt, a new undrawn working capital facility in place and further hedges implemented to partially mitigate the impact of SPT.

Q4 Operational Highlights

• 13% quarter on quarter increase in Group average production volumes to 3,196 bopd for Q4 2019 (Q3 2019: 2,816 bopd)
• 5% year on year increase in Group average production volumes to 3,007 bopd for the full year 2019 (2018: 2,871 bopd)
• Increase in annualised production resulting from the six new onshore development wells coming on stream during H2 2019, and the Company’s ongoing low-cost work programme of recompletions (“RCPs”), workovers, reactivations and swabbing
• The six well drilling campaign commenced during H2 2019, so the full impact on production only began to be realised during Q4 2019
• The exit production rate for 2019 was almost 3,400 bopd, in line with expectations, with production levels above 3,400 bopd for much of December

Drilling Highlights

The six well onshore drilling programme delivered:

• an increase of 20% in Estimated Ultimate Recoverable Reserves (EUR) above pre-drill prognosis (602 mbo vs 500 mbo)
• an increase of 47% in estimated Net Oil Sand (NOS) encountered over pre-drill prognosis (1653’ vs 1125’)
• an increase of 54% in Initial Production rates (IP’s) over pre-drill prognosis (cumulative 650 bopd vs 421 bopd)

The strong performance of the 2019 drilling campaign results from more robust sub-surface mapping, and a more rigorous approach to examining reservoir performance which enabled more precise risking and ranking of potential reservoir targets.

The drilling programme lasted 125 days and there were no Lost Time Injuries (LTI’s) over the period, a significant positive result for the drilling team and lead contractors
The drilling programme included our first High Angle Well (“HAW”) FR 1807, which has continued to perform satisfactorily:

• The well had an IP of over 80 bopd vs the 50 bopd typically expected from a conventional vertical well.
• It attained a maximum daily production rate of 118 bopd prior to the planned implementation of a gravel pack, a completion technique to arrest sand production.
• Following the gravel pack implantation, the well is currently producing 40-50 bopd (no water production).
• A well pump optimisation is currently being run with production expected to be resumed at 80 bopd ahead of further optimisation.

Ongoing Operations

7 RCPs (Q3 2019: 10) and 26 workovers (Q3 2019: 25) were completed during Q4 2019, with swabbing operations continued across all land assets.

Better than expected results from the initial two well trial of Weatherford’s Supervisory, Control and Data Acquisition (“SCADA”) production optimising platform, with a meaningful increase in production from the two pilot wells

SCADA roll out continued with the platform currently on 6 wells with a further roll out expected to be carried out during 2020

With further roll out over a longer period the full production benefits and operating cost savings will become more apparent

Financial Highlights

• Cash balance of US$13.8 million (unaudited) as at 31 December 2019 versus US$10.2 million (audited) as at 31 December 2018 and US$15.6 million (unaudited) as at 30 September 2019.
• The year on year increase in cash has been achieved despite the cost of the six well drilling programme having been incurred from which the commensurate benefits are only starting to be realised
• Working capital facility put in place (currently undrawn) with CIBC First Caribbean for US$2.7 million, providing further financial flexibility
• The Company has continued to implement its hedging strategy which is designed to protect the Group’s free cash flows by partially mitigating the impact of Supplemental Petroleum Taxes (“SPT”) whilst retaining upside exposure to rising oil prices over the majority of production
• Three further hedges were put in place, at attractive terms, during the short period when oil prices spiked as a result of escalating tensions between the US and Iran around the year end.
• As a result, the Company now has hedges in place over 47,500 bbls/month for the first six months of 2020 (equating to approximately 46% of its 2019 exit production) and 28,333 bbls/month for the second six months of 2020 (equating to approximately 28% of its 2019 exit production).
• The put spread range (where the Company receives benefit) is an average of US$50.00 to 56.00 and the call options granted (where the Company cedes benefit) apply to 35,000bbls at an average call strike of US$65.50/bbl

The Company will announce its audited preliminary results for the year to 31 December 2019, in early April. This will provide full details on production, margins, operating break-even, costs and profitability – highlighting the growing value of the Company’s assets and continued strong financial performance.

Outlook

With a low operating break-even due to tight control over costs (H1 2019 EBITDA margin of 35%) combined with increased production from new infill wells, the Company intends to prioritise bottom-line free cash generation and maintaining a strong balance sheet during 2020.

The hedging programme we have implemented will help to mitigate the impact of SPT in 2020 which should allow Trinity to generate bottom line free cash flow under most credible oil price scenarios.

Operationally, the drilling programme will continue in 2020 with the sub-surface team being challenged to prioritise the identification of HAW drilling locations. The Company will also continue to roll out further SCADA platforms on selected existing wells and on all new wells.

Importantly, the SCADA technology enables real time analysis of well performance, and the ability to change and review flowrates remotely, plan more efficiently and ultimately reduce operating costs.

Given the benefits shown to date, the Company believes that by a wider-scale roll out of this technology it has the ability to increase production from existing wells, reduce natural declines in individual wells and create meaningful operating cost savings.

On our east coast Galeota licence, the Company continues to have a positive dialogue with both Heritage (our partner) and The Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (our regulator) in moving both the Trintes Field area and the TGAL field development forward.

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

“We continue with our strategy of delivering returns for our shareholders by growing production and margins as well as maximising free cash flow from our attractive portfolio of assets. As such, the positive results from our H2 2019 drilling programme – incorporating our first High Angle Well (HAW) – are particularly pleasing.

“Furthermore, we are pleased with the SCADA platform’s results to date. Real-time data management and the associated increases in efficiencies and production are clear to see and we are excited about the potential impact of rolling this technology out across our portfolio.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to directly thank our fellow shareholders for their support and patience during what has been a volatile quarter in the global markets. Please be reassured that all of our plans are focused on ensuring that we have the best platform in place to grow the value of our Company over the short, medium and longer term.”

Enquiries

For further information please visit www.trinityexploration.com or contact:

Trinity Exploration & Production plc

+44 (0)131 240 3860

Bruce Dingwall CBE, Executive Chairman

Jeremy Bridglalsingh, Chief Financial Officer

Tracy Mackenzie, Corporate Development Manager

SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nominated Adviser and Financial Adviser)

+44 (0)20 3368 3550

Mark Brady, Miriam Greenwood, Andrew Emmott, Cenkos Securities PLC (Broker),Joe Nally (Corporate Broking), Neil McDonald, Derrick Lee, Pete Lynch

+44 (0)20 7397 8900

+44 (0)131 220 6939

Whitman Howard Limited (Equity Adviser)

+44 (0)20 7659 1234

Nick Lovering

Hugh Rich

Walbrook PR Limited

+44 (0)20 7933 8780

Nick Rome

trinityexploration@walbrookpr.com