OREANDA-NEWS. May 17, 2012. BP announced that it has signed two production sharing contracts with the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The two deep water exploration blocks are located approximately 300 kilometres from the North East coast of Trinidad. BP was awarded blocks 23(a) and TTDAA 14 in the 2010/2011 deepwater competitive bid round in July 2011, with a 100 per cent working interest.

“These frontier blocks are over a new exploration area for BP and the country. We are excited to explore for new resources in this under explored deep water region” said Norman Christie, President, BP Trinidad and Tobago. “With these awards we are pleased to see the confidence that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago continues to place in BP.”

BP’s Trinidad operations account for more than half of Trinidad and Tobago’s natural gas production and 12 per cent of BP’s global production. The awards continue to strengthen the significance of Trinidad and Tobago in BP’s global portfolio.

Block 23(a), located approximately 300 kilometres north east of BP Trinidad and Tobago’s (bpTT’s) Galeota Point operations base, covers approximately 2,600 square kilometres in water depths averaging 2,000 metres.

Block TTDAA 14 which is located next to block 23(a) covers a further 1,000 square kilometres in water depths averaging 2,000 metres.

BP has been operating in Trinidad and Tobago since the 1960s, first producing oil in 1972. BP currently holds exploration and production licences covering 3,600 square kilometres offshore the east coast of Trinidad.

Facilities include 13 offshore platforms and two onshore processing facilities. BP also holds interests in all of Atlantic LNG’s four LNG production trains on Trinidad. BP is the largest producer of hydrocarbons in Trinidad and Tobago, with average production in 2011 of some 408,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day.