Curtis Williams, T&T Guardian

PORT SPAI
EnergiesNet.com 11 07 2022

Buoyed by the high oil prices since 2014, state-owned Heritage Petroleum has paid to government $4.8 billion in taxes or 8.85 per cent of all the revenue collected by the state in 2022, according to the company’s accounts which the Business Guardian has seen.

The performance of what was the exploration and production unit of the now defunct Petrotrin has also been able to pay all of its financing costs in the 2022 fiscal year, including the annual loan commitments on its US $1.2 billion loan.

Preliminary results show that Heritage generated gross revenue of $10.2 billion and had an after tax profit of $1.4 billion.

Only last week Finance Minister Colm Imbert crowed that the Board of Inland Revenue had finalised the actual revenue figures for Fiscal 2022 and the total revenue in Fiscal 2022 was $54.21 billion, which is $2.57 billion more than the revised estimate announced in September 2022, and $10.88 billion more than the original revenue estimate of $43.33 billion for Fiscal 2022.

The Business Guardian reached out to Heritage’s Chairman Michael Quamina who said after just four years, there can be no doubt that Heritage Petroleum Company has surpassed expectations on the revenue side. We are proud to be a major net earner of foreign exchange and a major contributor to the Government’s tax revenues.

“Moreover, based on our ambitious drilling programme in 2022 which saw nine successful wells drilled on land and one quite successful well offshore and with 11 wells carded to be drilled on shore and six offshore in 2023, along with a robust 2023-2025 forward drilling programme with additional prospect leads being matured at this time, the company is on a very healthy path, and well placed to meet without assistance, its very significant loan commitments which become due in 2023,” Quamina said.

Business Guardian has been able to confirm that in fiscal 2022, Heritage executed a ten well forward drilling programme on land. The program was completed in five months from May to September by operating two rigs (WSL Rig-2 & PCSL Rig-8) simultaneously. This approach accelerated the production contribution to Heritage. Both rigs were fully staffed with local labour. In total over 53,000ft was drilled.

Business Guardian has learnt that the wells drilled targeted the Cruse and Morne L’Enfer Reservoirs within the Palo Seco, Point Fortin, McKenzie and Forest Reserve Fields.

To date, eight wells have been placed on production, with an actual oil production rate of more than 500 barrels of oil per day (bopd). The drilling campaign has also identified possible follow up wells and uphole recompletion opportunities that have added to Heritage’s Reserves base, which the Company is currently working to quantify.

In addition, nine heavy workovers (HWO) were executed on its land fields that targeted existing producing intervals and uphole prospects and 863 well servicing jobs. In total twelve workover rigs and six swabbing rigs were in operation in 2022. On any given day there were estimated 240 personnel who worked over 760,000 manhours on these programs.

It is expected that 10-11 HWO Heavy workovers (HWO) will be completed in 2023 and in addition well servicing will continue to manage base decline.

Heritage has reportedly developed a very robust forward drilling program for 2023-2025, and drilling is expected to resume early in 2023 with another 10-11 well forward drilling program with 3-4 wells in Palo Seco and 6-7 wells in Forest Reserve and Point Fortin. Land drilling is to recommence in January 2023 with 2 land drilling rigs in operation during the year.

Meanwhile offshore, the first well was drilled in the offshore Soldado field by Heritage in September 2022 after the rig was received from EOG. This well will be put on production at the beginning of November 2022. Expected Initial Production of the Cruse C/D sands (IP) is 400 bopd.

Sixteen heavy offshore workovers were also completed and so far, have tested at ~800 bopd. Several wells are still to be tested, BG has learnt.

In 2023 five wells are planned in offshore Soldado, four wells in East Field and one well in Southwest Soldado. In addition, 10-12 HWO offshore have also been planned.

Business Guardian has been told that the Subsurface team has landed a robust forward drilling program for 2023-2025 of 18 offshore well and 20 land wells and several leads which will be matured as the subsurface and engineering work continues.

Heritage Chairman said this performance would have been impossible without the company’s 400 plus employees, with an estimated 240 employees, all local, involved in the expanded drilling programme.

“We owe these individuals a debt of gratitude for going the extra mile, and are getting our production levels to a point where we are able to better take advantage of higher oil prices.I am quite pleased to say that it is not all about revenue, as Heritage has also managed to use its resources to increase its corporate visibility throughout the fence line communities in which it operates, ensuring that our neighbours are aware not just of our presence, but of our positive impact on their daily lives,” Quamina ended.

guardian.co.tt 11 04 2022