BHP, Young, NGC welcome Ruby oil start-up

BHP, Energy Minister Stuart Young and the National Gas Company (NGC) all welcomed the announcement of the first oil production from BHP's Ruby Development on Tuesday.

Ruby is located offshore TT in the shallow water in Block 3(a) within the Greater Angostura Field. The development consists of both oil and gas production from the Ruby and Delaware reservoirs via five production wells and one gas injector well tied back into existing operated processing facilities.h

In a statement on Wednesday, BHP president petroleum, Geraldine Slattery said: “The start-up of Ruby represents continued development of BHP’s oil and gas production facilities in TT, re-enforces the quality of the resource and its investment competitiveness." Slattery added, "This marks a significant milestone for our Petroleum business and our future in TT.”

Incoming BHP TT manager, Michael Stone said, “Achieving first oil safely and ahead of schedule reflects the true tenacity of the Ruby project team together with our industry and government partners who persevered to deliver this project amid a global pandemic."

BHP said upon completion, Ruby is expected to have capacity to produce up to 16,000 gross barrels of oil per day and 80 million gross standard cubic feet of natural gas per day. Stone and outgoing BHP TT manager Vincent Perreira met with Young on Tuesday to inform him about Ruby's first oil production.

A statement issued by the Energy Ministry said Young congratulated BHP on this achievement. The ministry also said Young discussed with Perreira and Stone some specific projects he would like the company to work on with the Government, to secure the energy sector's future. After the meeting, the ministry said Young and BHP executives agreed to re-engage soon for detailed discussions about the company's projects in TT.

In a statement, NGC said TT can expect to see a boost in its supply of crude oil and further stability in its natural gas supply, as the Ruby development project begins production ahead of schedule. NGC) and BHP are joint venture partners in Ruby.

Last July, NGC and BHP signed a gas sales contract, allowing NGC to purchase 100 per cent of the gas produced from the Ruby field to add to its existing portfolio of natural gas supply. NGC as a joint venture partner, also is entitled to a share of the field’s oil production. NGC said this will be marketed as part of its energy marketing and trading portfolio, providing valuable supplemental income to the company.

The company's president, Mark Loquan, said, "NGC has been working closely and conscientiously with upstream operators, both as a value chain stakeholder and joint venture partner in several developments, to advance work programmes and bring more gas into the pipeline." He added, "It is extremely heartening to see that work bearing fruit." Loquan was optimistic of further positive news arising from Ruby.

"This is promising news for our downstream sector, for our company, and for the country."