WITH BIDS in place for 11 out of 16 blocks in the completed onshore and nearshore auction, hopeful companies now have to wait about three months to find out whether they will now be successful.
However, bid rounds are just the start of the process. Exploration, drilling and discovery, could take years.
But despite concerns that the ease of doing business in the oil and gas sector, or the lack thereof could cause years of delays, Energy Minister Stuart Young said that with several changes in the culture and strategies of the Energy Ministry, TT may not have to wait as long as it would think to strike new oil and gas.
Speeding up the process
Young said in a phone conversation with Business Day that the Ministry of Energy has reduced the turnaround time between a successful bid and discovering and producing oil and gas. He said the ministry changed its culture to one that is focused on getting the job done in the safest way and in the shortest time possible.
"If we ask for a seismic report and they say two years from now, we say you have to shorten it,” he said. “We ask what they need to rework, is there data that the Ministry of Energy or anybody else has, that we can provide for them.”
“We've actively been working with the EMA. Very often you'll require EMA approval for new lines of work to be done in virgin territory, etc. We work with the other authorities to make sure those are granted in as short a time as possible whilst protecting the environment. So really, it is just a new attitude, from the highest level.”
[caption id="attachment_995407" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A map of the onshore and neashore blocks in south Trinidad. - ROGER JACOB[/caption]
The EMA is an independent body which operates under the Environmental Management Act, committed to sustainably manage the natural resources and environment by providing a transparent framework to facilitate policy and decision-making in development through regulation and collaboration.
EMA president Hayden Romano says the EMA steps into the drilling process after contracts are awarded. From there, companies would need a certificate of environmental clearance (CEC) before beginning operations.
The CECs are site specific, Romano said. The EMA looks at the nature, scale and location of the block.
"The applicant would have to provide us with all the information on the site," he said.
"What is the activity they plan to do, all the information with respect to the biodiversity of the site, topography of the site, and whether there are fenceline communities for other stakeholders."
The Energy Chamber also lauded the ministry’s diligence in guiding the process along for companies.
“The significant technical work undertaken by the Ministry of Energy and the quality of data available to bidders also had a positive impact,” it said.
With bids in place the Government now has to assess the proposals and come back in three months’ time to announce the win
