Guardian ( Trinidad and Tobago )
23 May 2024 ( Page 15 )
Shell starts deepwater seismic next month
Shell Trinidad and Tobago announced that the
PXGEO 2 survey vessel will mobilise from
Chaguaramas to the East Coast Marine Area
(ECMA) to conduct a 3D seismic survey across the
deepwater Blocks 25a, 25b and 27, the website Oil
Now reported yesterday.
The company announced the survey in an
advisory notice shared by the Ministry of Energy
and Energy Industries. Shell’s seismic data
acquisition campaign is expected to last three
months, starting June 1.
The three deepwater blocks were awarded to a
consortium of Shell and bp in the third quarter of
2023. The seismic survey forms part of
commitments by the group in its bids for the
blocks. They also committed to drill three
deepwater wells.
The 2021 deepwater competitive bid round on
June 2, 2022, following which the bids were
evaluated, recommendations were sent to the
Cabinet.
A decision was made to enter into negotiations
with the bidders, a consortium comprising BP
Exploration Operating Company and BG
International Ltd.
The purpose of these negotiations was to seek
improved fiscal and technical terms for the
production sharing contracts (PSCs) for the four
blocks that were bid upon, namely blocks 23(b),
25(a), 25(b) and 27.
After several months of negotiations between
representatives from both the Ministry of Energy
and Energy Industries and the Consortium, the
parties were able to agree to mutually acceptable
fiscal and technical improvements to the bids for
three of the blocks 25(a), 25(b) and 27.
Arising from these improved terms, Cabinet
subsequently agreed to the award of three PSCs to
the consortium for these blocks.
The PSCs were executed at the signing ceremony
for the award of blocks 25(a), 25(b) and 27 which
took place on September 26, 2023 at the Hyatt
Regency, Port-of- Spain.
The deepwater blocks 25a, 25b and 27 are green,
east of Trinidad on this Ministry of Energy map.