Page 8 - LatAmOil Week 37 2022

LatAmOil MEXICO LatAmOil

The Mexican company also quibbled with this claims make no sense for a number of reasons,
number on other grounds, calling it a compos- and it should be no problem to show that,” they
ite figure that included other types of emissions wrote to the news agency.
such as nitrogen, which has no deleterious envi- Since the publications of the article in June,
ronmental effects. “The images captured by the research team has gathered evidence of more
the satellites referred to in the Environmental leaks at Ku-Maloob-Zaap. Earlier this month,
Science & Technology Letters article were con- Irakulis-Loitxate said ESA satellites had taken
sidered, incorrectly and unprofessionally, to be images of a methane “ultra-emission” event that
entirely methane gas emissions,” it declared. had occurred on six separate days in August
The NOC’s assertions have drawn a sceptical 2022.
response from the Spanish research team, which Methane is often flared off during oil produc-
is headed by Itziar Irakulis-Loitxate. Members of tion operations to minimise harmful impact. It
the team indicated last week that they stood by is a key driver of climate change, as it is much
their findings, telling Reuters that they intended more powerful at trapping heat than carbon
to explain their findings in greater detail. dioxide. However, it only lasts in the atmosphere
“For the time being, we can say that Pemex for around a decade. ™

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
PM says Trinidad and Tobago should have

more say over gas development strategy

KEITH Rowley, the prime minister of Trinidad problem is that it has limited influence over
and Tobago, has said he wants his country’s gov- the gas industry. The government’s options for
ernment to have a greater say in decisions about meeting challenges are constrained, since it is
exploration, production and development strat- not itself a producer of gas and must leave deci-
egies in the natural gas sector. sions about production to the operators of the
Speaking after a meeting with representatives gas fields, he explained.
of BP (UK), Shell (UK) and Proman (Switzer- The prime minister suggested that this policy
land), which are among the biggest investors would have to change in the long term. Trinidad
in Trinidad and Tobago’s gas industry, Rowley and Tobago should have a say in decisions about
noted that the island state was currently pro- gas exploration, production and development
ducing around 2.9bn cubic feet (82.12mn cubic and not leave the matter in the hands of other
metres) per day of gas. Data compiled by Port parties, he declared. If it does not, it may face
of Spain show that the country should be able even steeper hurdles in the future, he said. ™
to maintain output at this level for another few
years, he stated.
He stressed, though, that the gas sector was
facing significant challenges. Output levels have
dropped from a peak of 4.2 bcf (118.9 mcm) per
day, as the country’s largest fields have matured
and no new discoveries have been made, he
noted. Under these conditions, yields are likely
to start declining in the second half of the dec-
ade, he said.
Declining gas output would, in turn, have a
negative impact on public finances and stand-
ards of living, he added. “[If] we do not make
decisions ... the diagram shows that by 2026,
2027, 2028, the levels of gas that will be available
in Trinidad and Tobago – if no new improve-
ments are [made] – will have far-reaching con-
sequences for government revenues and, I dare
say, for the quality of life of all the people of Trin-
idad and Tobago,” he was quoted as saying by
OilNOW.gy.
According to Rowley, one of the reasons why
Trinidad and Tobago has found itself facing this Rowley reports on his meeting with energy company executives (Photo: OPM.gov.tt)

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 37 14•September•2022