At a glance: Project pipeline for Trinidad and Tobago’s Natural Gas Company

The National Gas Company (NGC) of Trinidad and Tobago, a key player across the country’s energy value chain, has been widening its footprint as part of efforts to add new sector impetus.

The state-owned operator’s build-out has been led by the signing of upstream licenses to secure natural gas amid depressed local production.

In July, the group and BP Exploration were named as licensees to develop the Cocuina cross-border field, the second upstream license inked by NGC for a joint Venezuela project following the signing of the Dragon field license.

A month earlier, NGC secured exploration and production licenses with the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries for 20% participating interests in the Charuma and Cipero blocks.

“The award of these blocks is in keeping with NGC’s strategic objectives to proactively seek opportunities to promote the development and monetization of Trinidad and Tobago’s natural gas reserves both onshore and offshore,” the company said at the time.

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As owner and operator of most of Trinidad and Tobago’s offshore and onshore gas pipeline system of around 1,000km, with capacity of 4.4Bf3/d, NGC is well positioned for the expected increase in gas dispatch.

To prepare for the forecast growth in offtake, the company has a portfolio of midstream and downstream projects to support continued gas supply to power generators and petrochemical plants, as well as supplying light manufacturing, industrial and commercial segments.

One project, in the conceptual design phase, is related to the Dragon field and envisions a 22km pipeline from the Venezuela acreage to Shell’s Hibiscus platform in the North Coast Marine Area.

Around 185Mf3/d of gas would be sent to Trinidad and Tobago in a first phase.

Read Preliminary work on Dragon gas project has begun and Permitting underway for proposed Trinidad-Venezuela gas trade

Another proposed work entails the installation of a new bypass at NGC’s Phoenix Park valve station to improve system reliability to downstream customers during adverse emergency scenarios. The estimated cost is 65mn Trinidad dollars (US$9.6mn).

At the Guaracara refinery at Pointe-a-Pierre, there are plans to supply gas infrastructure with a focus on metering facilities. The estimated cost is 12.7mn Trinidad dollars.

Compressed natural gas is also part of the project portfolio with an initiative that calls for the construction of 22 service stations and the conversion of 17,500 vehicles at an estimated cost of 300mn Trinidad dollars.

Meanwhile, front-end engineering design work is underway for a small-scale LNG project to create a regional energy hub by providing onshore and marine infrastructure to allow for the supply of small LNG cargos, either via ISO containers or LNG ships of less than 20,000m3 capacity.

And further out, NGC continues to keep the flame lit for a pipeline to transport gas from Grenada to Point Lisas that would cost 3.39bn Trinidad dollars and depend on the smaller Caribbean island tapping its hydrocarbon resources.