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Increasing Deepwater Exploration Could Refuel Trinidad and Tobago’s Oil and Gas Industry, Says GlobalData Analyst

GlobalDatalogoExploring deep and ultra-deepwater areas could boost Trinidad and Tobago's (T&T) oil and gas industry, which has $6.2 billion of investment planned over the next two years, helping to offset the government's apparent move away from an energy-dependent economy, says an analyst with research and consulting firm GlobalData.

According to Effuah Alleyne, Senior Analyst for GlobalData, T&T's Budget Statement for the fiscal year 2015 revealed that the energy industry accounted for a 35% share of the country's anticipated revenue. This represents a significant decline since 2006, when the sector represented almost 53% of the budget.

While this move may imply trouble for T&T's oil and gas industry, Alleyne states that the emerging trend of deepwater exploration could help to revive the sector in a country where the majority of exploration and production (E&P) activity occurs in shallow waters of up to 250 meters (m) deep.

The analyst says: "T&T's competitive deepwater bidding round ended in March this year, with two of six blocks awarded to a consortium consisting of BHP Billiton and BG Group. These blocks are located in water deeper than 1,500m.

"As deep and ultra-deepwater is yet to be fully explored in T&T, these areas could represent vast potential, especially as there are over 15 open blocks. These lie in the Columbus Basin, an extension of the prolific Eastern Venezuelan Basin, where one of the world's largest reserves of 1 trillion barrels of heavy oil-in-place is located."

In addition to deepwater exploration, Alleyne notes that reassessing mature assets is another developing trend in T&T, with numerous recent discoveries being made in some of its established reserves.

The analyst explains: "Repsol's continued exploration activities in the mature Teak field revealed new oil accumulations this year through discovery well TB 14.

"Furthermore, this area, which has been producing since 1972, also has unexplored acreage onshore and offshore, similar to other mature assets in the country."

Alleyne concludes that T&T's planned oil and gas sector investment of $6.2 billion over the next two years reflects the confidence that untapped potential, both in existing fields and in under-explored deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas, could significantly boost the country's capital expenditure.

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