Curtis Williams
OGJ Correspondent
PORT OF SPAIN, Sept. 9 -- Hurricane Ivan, the most powerful hurricane to hit the Caribbean in a decade, did not affect BP Trinidad and Tobago's natural gas production or its 1.8 bcfd gas deliveries to the Atlantic LNG export plant. Crude production, however, was reduced by about 21,000 b/d, BPTT said.
Ivan passed just North of Trinidad, the Caribbean's leading oil and gas producer. It ravaged the Windward Islands Tuesday, forcing oil and gas companies operating in Trinidad and Tobago to evacuate personnel. BPTT reduced its staff by 80%.
BPTT expects soon to get crude oil production back to the volumes produced prior to the evacuation, press officer Paul Charles said.
Atlantic LNG officials said their production was not hampered by the storm, although they stopped shipping LNG as Ivan approached.
Atlantic LNG is the largest exporter of LNG to the US, with Trinidad and Tobago being responsible for 75% of all LNG imported by the US.
BPTT provided a workboat to the Trinidad and Tobago government to rush aid and supplies to Tobago and to nearby Grenada, where much damage and three deaths occurred, and Trinidad and Tobago contributed millions of dollars in aid.
