Improving the ease of doing business within the energy sector, is desperately needed to boost the country’s economy, says Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Dr Roodal Moonilal.
00:00In some other news now, improving the ease of doing business within the energy sector is desperately needed to boost the country's economy,
00:08so says Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Dr. Rudel Munilau.
00:12He says a study conducted by the Energy Chamber revealed that the approval process for new upstream projects requires 33 major approvals from eight ministries and agencies.
00:30We remain committed at the ministry to being accessible and promoting the ease of doing business in the energy sector.
00:37One of the major obstacles to increasing oil and gas production is the lack of operational efficiency linked to government approvals that companies must navigate.
00:52Speaking at an energy conference hosted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers at the Cara Suites Hotel in Claxton Bay this morning,
01:00Dr. Munilau says for TNT to become the energy hub of the Caribbean and continue playing a vital role in the global energy arena, the process has to be better.
01:13We intend at the ministry to host a national symposium on the ease of doing business in the energy sector.
01:22At this symposium, the industry will be invited to air their concerns and to make recommendations.
01:28These recommendations will aim to de-bottleneck the approval process along the energy value chain and accelerate the development of projects in the energy sector.
01:39In a statement this afternoon, the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago said it warmly welcomes the statements made by Minister Munilau to address the ease of doing business in the energy sector.
01:52It says increasing the pace of approvals is one of six key points the Energy Chamber determined will increase oil and natural gas production.
02:00Faster approvals, it adds, would result in additional value from our resources for both the government and operators.
02:09The Chamber says increasing the production of both oil and gas is critical for stabilization of the economy and the generation of foreign exchange in the country.
02:19It is also critical, it adds, for the growth of opportunities for local contractors and employment in the energy sector.
02:25In its statement, the Energy Chamber says it is fully committed to working closely with the Ministry of Energy and other ministries and agencies to address these issues.
02:36Returning to our top story now, Energy Minister Dr. Rudal Munilal today hit back at St. Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonzalez for recently comparing the TT dollar to that of monopoly money.
02:49He was speaking at an energy symposium hosted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers at Cara Suites Hotel in Claxton Bay this morning.
02:57Minister Munilal also spoke of the government's push to improve the country's oil production figures to boost the economy by allowing heritage to drill deeper onshore.
03:09Reporter Cindy Raguba, Tikasingh, Hasmo.
03:13Despite experiencing a significant decline in oil and gas production in recent years, Energy Minister Dr. Rudal Munilal says the fact remains that TNT's economy is largely dependent on revenue from that sector.
03:27The energy sector, he says, is also a main source of much-needed foreign exchange.
03:33Sadly, I recently took note of a statement made by the Honorable Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where he made comments on Trinidad and Tobago's forex situation and indeed compared our money to monopoly money.
03:48Maybe the Prime Minister should have shared his wisdom with his colleagues who were responsible for the collapse of our economy and the shortage of foreign exchange.
03:59He suggested that the previous administration with one move led to TNT's forex crisis.
04:06It is not my role to cast blame or aspersions on anyone, particularly any of the former leaders in the energy sector.
04:16I think the former Minister of Energy is having a bad week already, so I will not add to that.
04:22Further, the closure of Petrotrin and the Point of Air refinery would have contributed in no small measure to the decline in forex.
04:30Minister Munilal says in a week or two, a refinery restart committee will be set up to tackle that issue.
04:38Meanwhile, he says, one proposal to improve TNT's significantly declining onshore oil production rate will be to drill deeper,
04:47which was not previously possible due to Heritage not having deep rights for its four onshore blocks.
04:53Following negotiations with our ministry, the license of heritage for these onshore blocks have been amended to include heritage rights to ensure horizons.
05:04In return, Heritage has committed to the drilling of one exploration well in each of the blocks,
05:11ranging in depths from 5,500 feet through vertical depth to 15,500 feet through the vertical depth over the next three years, a significant milestone.
05:25Speaking to reporters following his address at the Society of Petroleum Engineers Energy Symposium,
05:31titled Rejuvenating Our Mature Fields and Basins,
05:34Dr. Munilal says a main issue raised by lease operators continues to be that of acreage.
05:42Even at this early stage, they make the claim that they need more wells, they need more acreage.
05:48If you need more oil, you need more acreage.
05:50And what has happened is that over the years, for some reason or another, and we look at that,
05:55Heritage has been reluctant to release acreage to the lease operators and farmhouse community.
06:00And that is something that we'll ask the new board to look at, because we believe if you drill more, you get more.
06:07I mean, we know the risk associated with it as well as risky business.
06:11Dr. Munilal says with this, together with a few gas fields coming on stream soon,
06:17the short-to-medium-term outlook for oil in TNT is positive.
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