The Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs (MEEA) for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago signed contracts yesterday, awarding two deepwater blocks to the BHP Billiton - BG International consortium.
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| L-R: TT Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine, Commissioner of State Lands Ian Fletcher, and BHP Billiton T&T's Country Manager Vincent Pereira sign for deepwater block TTDAA 3. Photo from MEEA. |
The signing ceremony for the Trinidad and Tobago Deep Atlantic Areas (TTDAA) Blocks TTDAA 3 and TTDAA 7 was held at MEEA offices in the International Waterfront Centre, Port of Spain, attended by Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine, Commissioner of State Lands Ian Fletcher, BHP Billiton T&T's Country Manager Vincent Pereira, BGTT President Garvin Goddard, MEEA's Chief Technical Officer, Richard Jeremie, and PS Selwyn Lashley.
The Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) include 9-year exploration phases for two blocks off the northeast coast of Trinidad, in water 1800m deep:
• TTDAA 3 covers 109722 hectares.
• TTDAA 7 covers 99783 hectares.
During Phase 1 of the exploration period, BHP is obligated to acquire 2400sq km of 3D seismic data, including 1300sq km in TTDAA 3 and 1100sq km in TTDAA 7.
MEEA estimates resources in the two blocks at 2-7 TCF of natural gas and 500 million to 2 billion bbl of crude oil.
The 2013 deep water bid round was opened on 14 August 2013, with an initial closing date of 31 January 2014. The time period for bidding was extended to 28 March 2014, following the request of companies for additional time to access and evaluate the data. Although six blocks were offered, only two received bids, and Repsol was the only additional bidder.
With this signing, there are now nine PSCs for deepwater blocks off north and east Trinidad.
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| Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine at the signing ceremony on 2 Dec. Photo from MEEA. |
"Safety trumps economics," said TT Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine in an address during the signing ceremony on 2 December.
BHP Billiton in T&T
BHP Billiton Petroleum is actively exploring offshore T&T and is developing both on and offshore. It operates the shallow-water Greater Angustura field off the east coast of Trinidad and holds 45% interest in that PSC.
BHP Billiton is also investing in deepwater exploration. In June, the company farmed into two deepwater blocks, TTDAA 14 and 23(a), taking over BP Trinidad and Tobago's (BPTT) 70% stake.
BHP Billiton had previously signed PSCs for other deepwater acreage off T&T: Blocks 23(b) 5, 6, 28, and 29.
Earlier this year, BHP Billiton issued a tender for geotechnical, geochemical, environmental, and metocean surveys in TTDAA 5, TTDAA 6, TTDAA 14, Blocks 23(a) and 23(b), TDAA 28, and TDAA 29. The company anticipated starting the work in September and the scope would take a year to complete.
BG in T&T
BG Group has been operating in Trinidad and Tobago since 1989, and supplies about one-third of its gas production to the domestic island market, with the rest exported through Atlantic LNG. The company operates in three main areas:
BG says it produces 25% of Trinidad's gas output.
Related news:
BHP, BG win Trinidad and Tobago blocks, 4 August 2014
Trinidad deepwater bid round to close 31 Jan 2014, 30 December 2013
BHP signs PSCs off Trinidad, 21 June 2013
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