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  • 1 year ago
Energy contributor, OilNow says T&T gas output dropped below 2 billion cubic feet per day for the first time in 22 years, but what do the experts say? Urvashi Tiwari Roopnarine reports.

Transcript
00:00Is Trinidad and Tobago's natural gas output at a 22-year low?
00:06Contributors of Oil Now seem to think so.
00:10The Guyana-based agency, which boasts that it strives to ensure the highest degree of
00:15accuracy and balance, published an article dated September 2, 2024, and titled Natural
00:23Gas Production in Trinidad and Tobago dropped below 2 billion cubic feet per day in June,
00:30the first time in 22 years.
00:33It looked at the outputs of TNT's three major natural gas producers, which showed declines
00:38in June, which drove down the country's total production to 1.96 billion cubic feet per
00:45day.
00:46Oil Now writes, quote, gas output had been above 2 billion cubic feet per day every month
00:54since August 2002, government data show, end quote.
00:59Arguably one of government's greatest critics, former Energy Minister Kevin Ramnirai, now
01:04an energy consultant, says Oil Now was not fair in its assessment.
01:10The article in question by Oil Now sought to cherry-pick one month of production, June
01:182024, and that is not the best way to get an assessment or a judgment of what is happening
01:30in any country, by cherry-picking one month.
01:33His view was bolstered by the energy ministry headed by acting Prime Minister Stuart Young,
01:39which hot on the heels of the article responded, saying, quote, natural gas production for
01:44the month of June 2024 was impacted by the conduct of maintenance activities by three
01:51of the major upstream gas producers, resulting in a 22 percent reduction in production when
01:58compared to the previous month, end quote.
02:01Kevin Ramnirai agrees.
02:03What we know is that in the month of June 2024, BP was conducting significant infrastructure
02:13work offshore as it relates to the tying in and the connection of the SIP, which is of
02:22course the next major development of the company, the SIP wells, into the infrastructure, they
02:28were integrating those wells into the infrastructure of the greater Mahogany area, which necessitated
02:34the shutting down of the Mahogany hub.
02:38The ministry says the decrease in natural gas production was transparently reflected
02:43in the consolidated natural gas monthly bulletins for the period January to June 2024, which
02:49is published on the ministry's website.
02:52The ministry further sought to allay any public concern, pointing out that once the
02:58planned shutdowns were completed, data show natural gas production for the month of July
03:032024 increased to 2.3 billion cubic feet per day and further increased to 2.7 in August.
03:13Still not off the hook, says Kevin Ramnirai.
03:16That doesn't take away from the fact that overall there is a decline in gas production,
03:24which has been going on for many years now and which has brought natural gas production
03:32for 2024 down to about 2.45 billion cubic feet of gas per day, which is not the June
03:412024 number, which is the average for the first six months of the year.
03:46But that number is in itself a source of concern because it's well below what this
03:53country needs.
03:54The energy consultant says the next major energy relief TNT will see is the Manatee
04:00project, which he believes will not come online until late 2027, early 2028.
04:07Aurvishi Tomari, Rupnirain, TV6 News.
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