Next week Energy Minister Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan will be leading a four-member team to Venezuela to sign the agreement on the unitisation of cross border gas reserves between the two countries. "Cabinet approved a visit to Venezuela on the occasion of the exchange of instruments of ratification of the framework treaty relating to the unitisation of hydrocarbon reserves that extend the demarcation lines of T&T and Venezuela.
"For some time we have had negotiations ongoing for that Loran/Manatee Treaty so I am pleased to say that we are going to Venezuela on Sunday and will be signing the unitisation agreement on Monday. This has been under discussion for the past 20 years in terms of this cross-border field," she said. She said this yesterday at the post-Cabinet press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair. She said the treaty outlines how the field will be divided up between the two countries.
"We have agreed that 74 per cent of field will go to Venezuela and the balance will go to T&T. Also we have issues of how to decide the exploration and production companies as well as one unit operator for that cross border field and in the agreement we have mechanisms to decide that. The Ryder Scott report had determined that we have close to 1.2 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) on our side. After we sign off we will begin producing from the field."