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ENERGY Minister Stuart Young says he is happy to receive any news that domestic energy production has increased.
He was visiting the National Energy Skills Centre's drilling academy in Ste Madeleine on August 6.
"Absolutely. I want to see drilling taking place in TT – onshore, offshore, deep water, shallow water, near shore as we call it."
Young said since he was appointed energy minister in 2021, after the death of his predecessor Franklin Khan, he has been pushing to boost energy production on all fronts.
"The first thing I did was meet with all of the operators (and) told them to identify areas where they believe there are hydrocarbons."
He said the operators needed to show they were willing to put their money where their mouth is and get in and drill.
Referring indirectly to a statement issued by A&V Oil and Gas Ltd on August 5 that it has increased its onshore oil production, Young said, "I am happy to see that some of that is coming to fruition."
He did not mention A&V by name.
In its statement, the company said three of its newly drilled wells in the Catshill Field have produced in excess of 1,200 barrels of oil a day
[caption id="attachment_1101099" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Energy Minister Stuart Young. - File Photo[/caption]
In September 2017, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar accused the company of supplying fake oil to Petrotrin.
Persad-Bissessar claimed this was permitted because the company's owner was a close personal friend of the Prime Minister .
Petrotrin terminated A&V’s contract to supply oil on December 22, 2017.
In its statement, A&V said a recently concluded arbitration found there was no basis for terminating the contract.
“In its award, the arbitrators granted an order which returned A&V to the Catshill Field for a ten-year period and ordered the payment of compensatory damages and legal fees by Petrotrin to A&V.”
Young did not comment on a recent offer by local company Lease Operators to buy Trinity Exploration & Production.
He said another energy company, Touchstone, had expressed an interest in acquiring Trinity as well, and this was a matter for Trinity's shareholders to decide on.
But he believed this was a good development because it showed people were interested in undertaking exploration activities.
"For me, these things are showing it's not just talk. You are seeing people who are interested and wanting to get into the ground and drill.
"The more drilling that we get done, is the more hydrocarbon that is going to be brought to market."
Young said he was happy Touchstone has been producing onshore gas, and about success in gas production in some offshore fields by smaller energy companies such as Perenco.
 
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