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Closing Date for 2012 Deep Water Competitive Bid Round Extended to September 4th 2012

Trinidad and Tobago Deep Water Competitive Bid Round 2012

Introduction

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is a twin-island state located at the southernmost point of the West Indian island chain (see Location map) extending south of Florida (USA) to eastern Venezuela on the South American mainland. It occupies a central position in that it is ideally located for egress to and from the North American and the South American mainland and is also easily accessible from Europe. The year 2008 marked the 100th anniversary of as a commercial producer of oil and gas as the Energy Sector has been, and continues to be the main driver of the economy of Trinidad and Tobago.

Competitive Bid Round 2012

The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago invites participation in its 2012 Deep Water Competitive Bid Round for six offshore blocks (see upstream activity map) located in the East Coast Marine Area and Trinidad and Tobago Deep Atlantic Area to be governed by Production Sharing Contract agreements. This Bid Round opened April 5th 2012. Deadline was initially July 30th 2012 and is now extended to September 4th 2012. It will be different from past rounds, taking advantage of revised contractual terms, a more transparent bid evaluation process and fiscal incentives designed to attract potential investors while optimizing government revenues. The acreage offers a mix of water depths, hydrocarbon play-types and production potential. Risk assessment in all of the blocks is facilitated by previously acquired 2D and 3D seismic data, well penetrations and the proximity of these blocks to known hydrocarbon pools and production.

Download the 2012 Deep Water Competitive Bidding Order which contains all the requirements to bid.

The data room is open for interested participants to view well and seismic data related to the acreage on offer. To request appointments, send an email to bidround@energy.gov.tt or one of the contacts listed at the bottom of this page. You can also view the prequalification criteria for participation here.

Download a synopsis of legal and commercial terms and view frequently asked questions about the Competitive Bidding Process and Production Sharing Contracts.

You can also download the procedure for obtaining a Bid Round Data package here.

Please view Minister's remarks in the house of Parliament for amendments to the Production Sharing Contracts and Fiscal Regime for the 2010 Competitive Bidding Order here.

Description of Blocks

In response to the limited success of the 2006 Trinidad Deep Atlantic Bid Round, the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs launched several initiatives aimed to encourage future exploration over the acreage with the intention of a second Deep Atlantic Bid Round. These initiatives included a concurrent review of fiscal, contractual and technical aspects of the Deep Atlantic area.

Fiscal and legal terms were reviewed in collaboration with consultants and other government stakeholders (e.g. Ministry of Finance). The new terms of the 2012 Model Deep Water Sharing Contract can be viewed by accessing this link (download the model Deep water production sharing contract).

A detailed technical review was carried out in collaboration with Dynamic Global Advisors of Houston. The technical aspect involved a two-phase study towards understanding the overall tectono-stratigraphic framework of the Deep Atlantic Area and its related petroleum system.

The first phase is entitled "A New Look at Eastern Deepwater Trinidad; Seismic Interpretation and Exploration Potential" and is based on the re-interpretation of reprocessed regional 2D seismic lines (CaribeSPAN) first acquired by GX Technologies (now ION). The study is one of the most detailed and up-to-date geologic analysis of this frontier basin and critically reviews the expected play concepts, including a comparison with established deep water plays in Nigeria and Gulf of Mexico. Further details can be obtained directly from Dynamic Global Advisors or the contacts listed at the end of this page.

The second phase of the study is entitled "Basin to Leads - Risks and Reserves: Exploration Potential of the Trinidad and Tobago Deep Atlantic" and was carried out under the patronage of the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs in collaboration with Dynamic Global Advisors. It builds on the framework established in the first phase and goes into specific details on aspects of the petroleum system, including basin modelling, reservoir characterization, pore pressure modelling and prediction (using seismic and well data), establishing characteristic leads, reserve and risk assessment and producibility.

View the scope of the project and a synopsis of the results.

There are other acreage enhancement studies that were undertaken on a speculative basis by several independent consultants that provide further insights into the Deep Atlantic area from several different perspectives. A piston core survey of the area was undertaken by TDI Brooks International (tdi-bi.com) in 2003 and details the presence of live thermogenic hydrocarbons over the acreage. Biostratigraphic Associates Trinidad Ltd. (mail to biostrat@mail.tt) also completed a detailed stratigraphic transect from onshore, through to shallow water and deepwater wells, incorporating the North and East Coast Marine areas, Northern and Southern Basins and Central Range. Geophysical contractors Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA are also planning a controlled-source electromagnetic survey for parts of the Trinidad Deep Atlantic Area, due in 2010, while Spectrum is reprocessing the original TTDAA regional 2D survey lines shot in 2004.

The Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs is encouraged by the results of past and ongoing studies over the deepwater acreage and by the feedback from independent parties interested in the acreage. We invite interested parties to visit our data room in Port of Spain or contact our offices for details of the upcoming Competitive Bid Round or others to be offered in the future. The Ministry looks forward to further consultation and eventual exploration over its shallow and deep offshore acreage.

DATA VIEWING ROOM

Interested parties are encouraged to visit the Data Room of the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs to view well and seismic data related to open acreage, including data within the upcoming Competitive Bid Rounds. The Data Room is located at Level 23 of the offices of the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs, International Waterfront Centre, Tower C, Port of Spain and viewing can be arranged between 8am to 4pm by appointment (see contacts below).

The Data Room can comfortably accommodate about four individuals, although there is no restriction on the numbers at any one time. It is equipped with a dual monitor workstation running Landmark’s Seisworks and Stratworks software and this can be used to examine available well and seismic surveys. The quantity and quality of data will vary by acreage and is determined by several factors including past exploration, proximity to producing blocks and legal data requirements. Every effort will be made to ensure that a representative and current dataset is available for viewing.

Once an appointment is made, companies and their legal representative (employees, consultants, etc.) are required to agree to a Data Use Agreement that governs usage of the data while in the Data Room. Visitors are also expected to abide by the guidelines set for the Data Room.

Useful Links

 

Contacts

Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs
PBX (868) 623-6708
Email: bidround@energy.gov.tt

Mr. Selwyn Lashley
Permanent Secretary (Ag)
slashley@energy.gov.tt
PBX ext. 2642

Mrs. Penelope Bradshaw-Niles
Senior Petroleum Engineer
pbradshaw-niles@energy.gov.tt
PBX ext. 2360

 
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