Go-ahead for BP’s Angelin offshore gas project

Oil major BP on Thursday approved the development its Angelin gas project offshore Trinidad and Tobago.  

The oil company said that the project will feature the construction of a new platform – bpTT’s 15th offshore production facility – 60 kilometers off the south-east coast of Trinidad in water-depth of approximately 65 meters.

The development will include four wells and will have a production capacity of approximately 600 million standard cubic feet of gas a day (mmscfd). Gas from Angelin will flow to the Serrette platform hub via a new 21 kilometer pipeline.

Drilling is due to start in 3Q 2018 and first gas from the facility is expected in 1Q 2019, said BP.

BPTT Regional President Norman Christie said: “We are pleased to be able to announce the sanction of the Angelin project which was made possible due to the execution of a new gas sales contract with the National Gas Company.

“Successful completion of these negotiations was important not only to the sanction of Angelin but will also underpin a further $5-$6 billion in potential future investments over the next five years.”

Angelin was originally discovered by the El Diablo well in 1995 and appraised by the La Novia well in 2006.

Angelin platform construction

According to BP’s statement from April this year, the Angelin platform will not be fabricated in Trinidad. The company explained that the motivation behind this decision was Angelin’s project schedule which needed to be preserved.

Following BP’s decision, the trade organization Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago said that, while stakeholders must be disappointed by the decision not to construct the Angelin platform in La Brea, this decision has been driven by the need to ensure that natural gas is available in Trinidad & Tobago by early 2019.

“There are clear concerns that any interruptions to project delivery, whether due to labor unrest or other factors, would have serious implications for bpTT, the National Gas Company and the downstream processors and users of natural gas. This in turn would have serious implications for the overall national economy,” the trade organization said.

It further added: “This decision highlights to urgent need for Trinidad and Tobago to improve productivity. Within the energy-related construction sector, many companies report that productivity levels have dropped over recent years not least due to high rates of absenteeism and protests. At the same time, demands for wage increases have continued, meaning that companies have become less competitive compared to companies operating in the United States, Mexico and elsewhere. This reality highlights the need for serious reforms to our industrial relations framework and improvements to work ethic and productivity.”

Despite all this, the Energy Chamber noted that platform construction was only one portion of the overall delivery of a major offshore gas development and that other opportunities for local content also exist in the drilling, installation and commissioning phases of the Angelin project.

Also on Thursday, BP announced two gas discoveries with the Savannah and Macadamia exploration wells, offshore Trinidad.

Offshore Energy Today Staff