Express ( Trinidad and Tobago )
28 April 2023 ( Page 10 )
Young: Negotiations ongoing with Venezuela
Development of Dragon Gas Field...
IN PARLIAMENT
¦ Ria Taitt
Political Editor
THE T& T Government continues to be in active negotiations with the government of Venezuela on the development of the Dragon Gas Field, Energy Minister Stuart Young said on Wednesday.
In response to a question from Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee in Parliament at the Red House, Port of Spain, Young said the members of the Venezuelan government who were present at the negotiations which took place in March in Caracas, Venezuela, included Pedro Rafael Tellechea, president of PDVSA, Juan Santana, PDVSA gas president and Annabelle Rivas, legal advisor, PDVSA.
Asked whether the Ofac (Office of Foreign Assets Control) two-year licence would commence when these negotiations are completed, Young said he did not want to be premature. 'Let us await the passage of time and the outcome of the discussions and as with everything else at the appropriate time the relevant announcements would be made,' he said.
In response to another question, Young revealed that while the NiQuan plant was operational and had produced products for commercial sale, it paid no taxes for the period April 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022. He said the company had transferred on-spec products to the storage tanks of Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd, NiQuan's Offtaker, to make up a cargo for sale by Paria on the international market. He said the NiQuan plant is currently down for works intended to improve plant performance and is expected to be up towards the end of the month.
Young said Niquan paid no taxes for the period April 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022 as the company generated no revenue during the period. The company is currently building up a cargo for sale by Paria on the international market.
He said Niquan Plant was down for one year from April 2021 and recommenced operations on May 28, 2022. Gas purchases during the period May 2022 to February 2023 varied between 129.04 MMCF per month to 631.43 MMCF per month, he said. Delay in announcement of successful bid rounds Meanwhile, in response to a question on the Bid Round in June 2022 and why there has been a delay in the announcement of successful bids, Young said the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries at the close of bids on June 2, 2022 for the 2021/2022 deep-water bid round received bids from a consortium of BPEOG and BG, a subsidiary of Shell on four deep-water blocks, 23(b), 25(a), 25(b) and 27. Following the evaluation of the bids an inter-ministerial team was appointed by Cabinet to negotiate with the bidders acceptable terms for the award of Production Sharing Contracts on the four blocks.
He said it was projected that the evaluation of the bids would be completed within three months. However, the technical and commercial considerations associated with deep-water exploration and development have led to lengthy negotiations. On one hand improved viability of deep-water and tightening supply-demand gaps are driving the market. This is balanced by volatile crude oil prices, instability in the oil & gas industry, and higher challenges in developing deep-water prospects, he stated.
'It is in this scenario that the parties are seeking to arrive at equitable terms that will accrue to the mutual benefit of Government as resource holder and the bidders as key stakeholders and investors in Trinidad and Tobago's Deepwater Province. The negotiations are in the final stages and the report and recommendations of the inter-ministerial team are expected to be submitted shortly for the consideration of Cabinet. Following which, an announcement will be made on the outcome of the negotiations,' Young said.
Photo: ENERGY MINISTER: Stuart Young
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