Page 7 - LatAmOil Week 17 2022

LatAmOil ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA LatAmOil

It said it had entered the order for the 46-MW “Notably, these engines could be an ideal plat-
plant, which will use regasified LNG as its pri- form for future decarbonisation strategies by
mary fuel, in its books in January of this year. making use of carbon-free fuels, such as hydro-
The statement did not say when construc- gen and ammonia ... The decision to use regas-
tion was likely to begin. But it did report that the ified LNG, the cleanest of all fossil fuels, will
new thermal power plant (TPP) was due to start result in about 40% less carbon production and
operating in the third quarter of next year. When is in step with the Government of Antigua and
finished, the facility will deliver electricity to the Barbuda and APUA’s plan to reduce its environ-
Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) for mental footprint.”
distribution via the national transmission grid. Eagle LNG Partners, APC and APUA joined
(APUA is also responsible for purchasing gas for forces for the LNG-to-power project last year.
delivery to the Caribbean LNG terminal.) According to a previous statement from the
Under the terms of its contract with APC, the US Embassy in Barbados, the Eastern Carib-
Finnish company will supply five Wärtsilä 34DF bean and the OECS, the three companies broke
dual-fuel engines for the TPP. These engines are ground on the Crabbs TPP last July. The new
flexible, as they can burn both residual fuel oil plant will be the first gas-fired facility of its kind
and natural gas, but also have “high efficiency on the island. ™
across the entire load range,” the statement said.
They will also be the first engines in a Wärt-
silä plant coupled with an LNG terminal in the
eastern Caribbean, it added.
“This integrative plant concept is expected
to become a model for other island utilities in
the Caribbean as the acceptance of LNG fuel
increases in line with efforts to reduce emission
levels,” it said.
The Finnish company stressed the poten-
tial environmental benefits of the project. “The
fast-starting capability means that the engines
can reach full power within five minutes, ena-
bling them to provide efficient grid-balancing
capacity as the adoption of renewable energy
from wind and solar increases,” it commented. Rendering of Caribbean LNG’s planned regasification plant (Image: Inoxcva)

BARBADOS
Shell farms into two blocks offshore

Barbados under deal with BHP Billiton

BHP Billiton (Australia) revealed last week that approvals and authorisations from the relevant
it had sold part of its equity stakes in two explo- regulatory agencies.
ration licences offshore Barbados to a subsidiary Shell has initiated the deal with BHP but will
of Shell (UK). complete the transaction with the company that
In an operational update, BHP explained results from the latter’s upcoming merger with
that it had signed a farm-out agreement that Woodside Energy, another Australian firm.
gave Shell stakes of 40% in Bimshire and Carl- BHP had revealed earlier in April that it had
isle Bay, also known as Blocks Cb-II and Cb-IV concluded a share sale agreement (SSA) with
respectively. The two blocks are adjacent, with Woodside in November 2021 that provides for
Bimshire located to the south-east of Barbados its entire oil and gas portfolio to be merged into
and Carlisle Bay directly south of Bimshire. the latter company via an all-stock transaction.
The Australian company acquired the right As of press time, neither BHP, Shell nor
to explore both blocks during a licensing round Woodside had divulged the value of the deal or
in 2007. The two sites cover a combined area of spoken publicly about plans for exploration of
5,004 square km and lie in waters ranging from the two blocks offshore Barbados. However, the
1,200 to 2,000 metres deep. Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago said in
According to the operational update, the a statement that it expected the project to gen-
parties expect to finalise the deal by the end of erate a certain amount of new business for the
June, assuming that they secure the necessary oilfield services sector of Trinidad and Tobago.

Week 17 28•April•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P7