Trade Minister applauds DeNovo's hiring of Pt Lisas firm for Zandolie platform construction

Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon has applauded DeNovo Energy Ltd's hiring of Pt Lisas-based United Engineering Services Ltd to build its Zandolie platform in the Gulf of Paria.

She hailed the venture as a "testament of the capability and capacity of local firms in Trinidad and Tobago to undertake large scale projects in the manufacturing, energy and services sectors utilising local content and resources."

"The Ministry of Trade and Industry fully supports this initiative and is committed to advocating for the promotion of local content and the preservation of the environment."

In a statement on Wednesday, Gopee-Scoon said the project was also a milestone in Government's green economy thrust.

"The Government continues to encourage green activities in the manufacturing sector through the incorporation of biodegradable and eco-friendly packaging, practices and production," she said.

The minister also highlighted green energy incentives such as the 30 per cent tax credit on the cost of investment of up to $500,000 for companies that invest in carbon capture and storage and enhanced oil recovery, announced in the 2022 budget, a week ago. Also, the removal of customs duties, motor vehicle tax and VAT on importation of electric vehicles.

On Tuesday, DeNovo announced that United Engineering had been awarded the contract to construct, install and commission the Zandolie platform in Block 1 (a) in the Gulf of Paria.

"The choice of a local contractor is in line with our continued focus on increasing local content, and further proof of our intent to deepen and widen the participation of local service providers in delivering the company’s growth objectives," DeNovo’s managing director Bryan Ramsumair said in a statement.

"I am confident that the selection of UESL will further emphasise the wealth of in country capabilities to safely and efficiently deliver offshore projects of this unique nature.”

UESL managing director Idris Saqui said the company appreciated DeNovo's "vote of confidence" in its selection after competitive bidding.

“DeNovo must be applauded for its confidence in the philosophy of local content participation. This clearly emphasises the vault of skills in our country. In these very challenging times UESL is particularly focussed on preservation of life and livelihood. This applies not just to how we work but to the commitment of our skilled and dedicated employees. UESL like DeNovo, is proud to be a TT ambassador in the corporate world.”

The Zandolie platform will be a single well, conductor supported platform with a nameplate capacity of 40 million standard cubic feet per day. DeNovo – a subsidiary of the Switzerland-based Proman Group – estimates that it will deliver first gas from the Zandolie field within the first half of 2022.

DeNovo said the Zandolie development builds off the existing infrastructure for its first production field, Iguana, which has enabled a more compact topside structure.

"The modular platform benefits from a number of innovations to earlier designs making it lighter and more efficient. Consistent with DeNovo’s ambition towards net zero emissions, the Zandolie platform will be a totally unmanned minimum facility which will be 100% fully powered by wind and solar energy," it stated.

"The space saving achieved by the elimination of full power generation equipment or fuel storage in favour of a conductor, also minimises the use of steel in the design. These progressive adaptations have also created opportunity for in-country fabrication and maximum engagement of local services for upstream development through the Zandolie project,"

UESL has successfully completed major projects for a wide range of industries including fertiliser, methanol, urea, cement, sugar, oil, production, oil refining and the manufacturing industries in TT and other Caribbean territories.

This story has been updated to include additional details. See the original article here.