2007 - Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago

BOX 1 (continued)DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ENERGY SECTOR• The Canadian Superior Energy Inc. failed to discover hydrocarbon resources in the Eastern block afterdrilling two wells (the Zaboca and the Shadon Beni). This however did not deter the company fromcontinuing drilling work on the Shandilay One well. The company plans to drill a fourth well – theTamarind, upon the completion of the Shandilay. However, the drilling of the Victory well in the IntrepidBlock 5(c), located 60 miles off the east coast of Trinidad, proved successful. The Victory well was the firstof an obligatory three well exploration programme. In January 2008, Canadian Superior announced thediscovery of natural gas and condensate after the completion of drilling activity in the first two zones ofthe Victory well. Block 5(c) is a joint venture between Canadian Superior (45 per cent), BG InternationalLimited (30 per cent) and Challenger Energy Corp. (25 per cent).• Petrotrin raised a US$750 million, 15-year, 6 per cent coupon bond to fund the construction of five plantsat Pointe-a-Pierre as part of the Gasoline Optimisation project. The bond, underwritten by Citibank(Trinidad and Tobago), was the largest investment grade issue ever undertaken by a company from theCaribbean. The project will result in more environmentally friendly fuels, increasing the finished gasolineyield of the refinery to approximately 40 per cent.Liquefied Natural Gas• Following the signing of a 17-year service agreement in 2005 between Atlantic LNG and General Electric,a US$400 million service centre was opened in Point Fortin in May 2007. This development means thatAtlantic LNG can now service its 27 turbines locally. Based on the modular concept, as much as an extrayear’s output could be gained because of reduced outages during extended maintenance periods.Natural Gas• On March 20 2007, the GOTT signed an agreement with Venezuela for the unitization of cross-bordernatural gas reserves – the first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere and the ninth worldwide. Thisrepresented the culmination of an MOU signed in 2003 between the two parties. The agreement outlinesthe determination and allocation of the gas volumes, the distribution of costs and benefits, constructionand operation installations for exploration and the construction of a cross-border pipeline. The first fieldto be operationalised under the agreement is the Loran /Manatee field which has estimated reservesof 10 trillion cubic feet (tcf), of which 2.7 tcf is within the maritime borders of Trinidad and Tobago.Production is scheduled to commence in 2009.21