BPTT completes turnaround maintenance in Trinidad and Tobago

Nov. 22, 2013
Trinidad and Tobago’s natural gas shortage is expected to ease with BP Trinidad & Tobago’s (BPTT) announcement that its Trinidad and Tobago operations had completed its heightened maintenance program.

Trinidad and Tobago’s natural gas shortage is expected to ease with BP Trinidad & Tobago’s (BPTT) announcement that its Trinidad and Tobago operations had completed its heightened maintenance program.

The Caribbean twin-island nation suffered major gas curtailment after BPTT embarked on a significant maintenance program to sure up its asset integrity in the wake of the Macondo well blowout and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

In a recent press release, BPTT said it had “safely completed the planned maintenance works (turnaround) on the Amherstia platform.” The Amherstia turnaround began on Nov. 6 and was originally planned to last 15 days; the turnaround was completed 5 days ahead of schedule, BPTT said.

It added that the Amherstia turnaround effectively brings to a close the heightened maintenance program announced by BPTT in 2011 that included turnarounds on the Immortelle, Kapok, Cassia B hub, and Amherstia facilities. In 2014, BPTT will return to more normal levels of maintenance activity, BP said.

BPTT operations produces half of Trinidad and Tobago’s 4.5 bcfd and is responsible for 18% of BP PLC’s total production.

The gas curtailment led to a reduction in Trinidad and Tobago’s LNG exports with Atlantic not delivering some of its cargoes and its production falling below its 15 million tonnes/year capacity. It also led to a fall in other commodities from the Caribbean including methanol, urea, and ammonia.