Cabinet has approved the award of two offshore exploration blocks to a major Chinese energy company, CNOOC.
Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Dr. Roodal Moonilal, made the announcement at Thursday’s Post Cabinet Media Briefing.
He said Cabinet has agreed to award Production Sharing Contracts for offshore Blocks 24 and 25 to the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).
He noted that the blocks are situated about 45 to 50 miles off the North Coast of Trinidad.
“Let me indicate that CNOOC is the third largest national oil company of China and the largest producer offshore of oil and gas in China. They expressed an interest in participating, and we are happy to announce that today, Cabinet considered and agreed to the award of Production Sharing Contracts for Blocks 24 and 25, and that was in response to our bid round.”
The Energy Minister said the Government will now move into another round of negotiations before the contracts are finalised.
He described CNOOC as a major global player in the energy industry.
“As some of you may know, CNOOC has also been involved with ExxonMobil and Hess, I believe, in Guyana in that massive oil find and production initiative in Guyana. We are very happy that ExxonMobil has already entered our energy industry, and now CNOOC is on the verge of entering as well.”
Dr. Moonilal also pointed to recent meetings with officials and energy companies during the Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo in Guyana, where discussions focused on strengthening cooperation between Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname.