14-08-09 Despite anticipating a flood of low-cost gas on the global market from the Far East and Africa, bpTT is confident about the growth in demand for natural gas, and the continued good fortune of Trinidad's energy sector.
Robert Riley, bpTT's chief executive officer, said the new suppliers may keep down international gas prices to below $ 4 per mm Btu over the next two years, but the growing efficiency and perceived lower environmental impact of natural gas, when compared to other fossil fuels, will give it a key role in transitioning the world from fossil-based energy sources to renewables and the biofuels solution of the future.

Riley said bpTT is already seeing this future and more power plants and homes are converting to gas. This trend will pick up even faster when the global economy begins its turnaround early next year, he added.
Riley was speaking at a luncheon the company hosted at its Port-of-Spain office to give an update on the energy sector.

Bio-fuels
Riley said although the transition to cleaner fuels may take a generation, bpTT is already playing a leadership role by investing heavily into wind, solar energy and bio-fuels across the globe. He said BP is one of the largest solar energy suppliers in the United States and it has a significant stake in Brazil's renewable bio-fuel business.
Riley said that over the next two years, BP will be investing more than $ 2 bn in research, development and the acquisition of technology that will become the foundation of the global energy landscape of the future.

"Because of the role gas will play in the global energy transition, it is important that we make preparations now to take advantage of the opportunities that will be created by the changes in the energy sector."
"We have to be very efficient, and everything about our operations has to be looked at and reviewed in detail to ensure that we are not wasting resources. Trinidad's competitive advantage is that our plant and equipment were constructed at a time when technology, expertise, financing and project management costs were low. So we have to take advantage of the infrastructure we already have on the ground."

"Just as we are investing in de-bottlenecking projects to boost our throughput, such as the maintenance and upgrade of wells, rigs, gas lines and distribution infrastructure, Government also has to invest in supporting infrastructure such as potable water, access roads and bridges."
"Through the National Gas Company (NGC), Government's role is to upgrade and expand the pipeline infrastructure to get the gas to processing plants."

High taxes
Riley said of the 18 territories in which BP operates, Trinidad is the highest-taxed jurisdiction, and in order for the business to remain sustainable in the long term, the country must become the lowest cost producers, while remaining competitive and relevant in the market.
The tax regime must be reviewed as the returns may not justify the risk being made by prospectors. Upgrading plant and equipment will help in the short to medium term to improve efficiency and gas utilisation, but new feedstock sources are needed to fuel processing plants in the long term-ten years into the future and beyond, Riley said. Without new wells coming on-stream, Trinidad will be hard pressed to entertain new projects, as the annual number of new finds is barely able to cover the projections Trinidad expects to utilise in the local and international market, he said.