NGC, Energy Ministry sign 2 E&P licences

The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd (NGC), through its subsidiary NGC E&P Investments Ltd, has signed two exploration and production (E&P) licences with the Energy Ministry.

The licences, signed on June 21, will award NGC 20 per cent participating interest in both the Charuma and Cipero onshore blocks.

In a release on Monday, NGC said Primera Oil and Gas Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of Touchstone Exploration) will be the operator of both blocks, with 80 per cent participating interest.

"The execution of these licences is the culmination of the 2022 onshore and nearshore competitive bid round, which allowed for state-owned enterprises to be given non-operated participating interest in each block," NGC said.

It added that the award of these blocks is in keeping with its strategic objectives to proactively seek opportunities to promote the development and monetisation of Trinidad and Tobago’s natural gas reserves.

With the aim of stabilising and securing the country's gas supply and energy infrastructure, NGC said it will continue to work with the operator in the exploitation of Trinidad and Tobago's onshore acreage.

At the signing, NGC group chairman Dr Joseph Ishmael Khan said, "We are excited by this opportunity to help shore up the country’s natural gas volumes, and the attendant opportunity to expand our business portfolio; because as a state company, when we grow, our nation profits."

He also expressed confidence that all stakeholders would work collaboratively to convert this opportunity into a productive outcome for Trinidad and Tobago.