HISTORICAL FACTS ON THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
YEAR EVENT
1857 First well drilled for oil in Trinidad ---61 meters deep in the vicinity of the Pitch Lake by the Merrimac
Company.
1865 Walter Darwent founded the Paria Oil Co. to drill for oil in South Trinidad.
1866 First successful oil well drilled by Walter Darwent at Aripero.
1901 Randolph Rust and Mr. Lee Lum drilled and tested a well which produced 455 liters of oil in 2 hours.
1903 Guayaguayare No. 3 . first well to be drilled with rotary equipment.
1904 A Mines Department instituted as a branch of the Public Works because of the production of manjak.
1908 Commercial oil production begins in Trinidad near the Pitch Lake, La Brea.
1910 First export cargo of crude oil was shipped by tanker at Brighton, La Brea.
1911 Discovery of the Tabaquite field .The most northerly oilfield found on land, to date.
1912 Small refinery built at Point Fortin.
1914 Production reached 1 million barrels per year and the oil industry employed 1,200 persons.
1919 Refinery capacity increased to 9,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd). 66 percent of crude oil produced was refined
locally.
1921 Production began from Trinidad Leaseholds Ltd.'s Cat Cracker Unit at Pointe-a-Pierre.
1930 Crude oil products increased to 10 millions barrels per year.
1930 First geophysical surveys made in the Brighton area.
1930 First importation of oil from Venezuela for refining locally.
1932 Electrical well logging introduced in Trinidad.
1933 Trinidad Oilfields Ltd. introduces gas injection in the Forest Reserve Upper Cruse sand.
1937 Widespread labour unrest in the oilfield area.
1940 Refining capacity increased to approximately 28.5 millions barrels per year.
1954 Marine drilling for oil began in the Soldado Field by Trinidad Northern Areas Limited (TRINMAR).High Seas
#1.
1954 Deepest well drilled on land Apex, Fyzabad Well No. 560 drilled to 16,155 feet.
1955 - Production from Soldado oilfield at Trinmar initiated.
1955 Discovery of the northern-most gas field in Trinidad at Mahaica, by Dominion Oil Limited.
1958 First well started on platform 1.2 miles offshore from Brighton. The platform was designed to accommodate
36 wells which was a world record for this type of platform.
1959 Federation Chemicals Ltd. pioneered the use of natural gas in Trinidad and Tobago as a chemical feedstock
in the manufacture of ammonia.
1961 Galeota No. 1 first exploratory well drilled offshore the East Coast of Trinidad. Well produced oil but considered
uneconomic.
1962 Formation of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mines.
1963 Appointment of Commission of Enquiry into the Oil Industry.
1967 A new production high of 65 million barrels per year was achieved.
1968 Government of Trinidad and Tobago and the United Nations carried out a seismic survey off Trinidad's North
Coast.
1968 First commercial oil discovery off the East Coast of Trinidad (off Pt. Radix) . . . well OPR-2.
1969 New Petroleum Legislation enacted Act No. 46 of 1969.
1969 On July 1, Government in a joint venture with Tesoro Corporation acquired the local assets of British Petroleum;
GOTT's first venture into national ownership of an oil company.
1969 The National Petroleum Company was established by law.
1970 First Marine concessions under the new petroleum act were given out (North Coast Marine Areas).
1971 Drilling began off the North Coast of Trinidad natural gas discovered.
1972 Trinidad and Tobago National Petroleum Marketing Company created.
1972 Delta Exploration Co., contracted to conduct a seismic survey of 2 million acres of offshore territory in
East Coast and Gulf of Paria.
1972 Commercial production began offshore the East Coast of Trinidad from AMOCO's Teak Platform
1974 On August 31, Government acquired the local operations of Shell Trinidad Limited and formed the Trinidad and
Tobago Oil Company Limited (TRINTOC).
1974 Petroleum Taxes Act revised the taxation methods in the petroleum industry and introduced the Refinery Throughput
Tax.
1975 Formation of the National Gas Company for the transmission and sales of natural gas.
1977 The Government of Trinidad and Tobago takes its option of an additional 20 per cent participation in South
Coast Consortium as a commercial discovery is announced.
1977 TRINGEN - Commissioning activities were completed and the shipment of ammonia destined for the U.S.A. and
Europe was begun.
1979 FERTRIN - Sod-breaking ceremony. January 1979.
1980 Formation of the National Energy Corporation.
1980 Commissioning of the Iron and Steel Company of Trinidad and Tobago (ISCOTT).
1980 Revised Petroleum Taxation made effective from January 1st 1980.
1981 The Petroleum Taxes Act of 1974 is amended to provide a more equitable treatment for all petroleum companies
operating in Trinidad and Tobago.
1981 TRINTOC granted an Exploration and production (Public Petroleum Rights) Licence over Block 9-North of the
N.W. Peninsula of Trinidad.
1982 Crude oil production continued to decline, registering a decrease in the average daily production of 6.5%
over the average for 1981.
1982 TRINTOC enters into a processing agreement with TEXACO Trinidad Inc. for the processing of 1 million bbls
of crude oil.
1982 Installation work begins on the second cross country pipeline by the National Gas Company.
1983 Decline in world crude oil prices. OPEC marker crude price cut from $34/bbl., which adversely affects the
local oil industry.
1983 Supplemental Petroleum Tax for land operations reduced from 35% to 15%.
1983 Cassia Gas Field comes on stream in May 1983.
1983 Offshore section of NOC 760 mm (30 inch) pipeline completed and put into service.
1983 Urea plant at Point Lisas commissioned on 2nd December 1983.
1983 Seismic survey using the vibroseis method initiated by Western Geophysical Co. (of U.S.A.).
1984 Crude oil production registers its first increase since 1978 with an increase in average daily production
of 6.0% above the 1983 average.
1984 Data from the marine seismic new areas off the North and East Coast of Trinidad and Tobago, put on sale.
1984 Joint UNDP/ World Bank Assessment of Trinidad and Tobago undertaken.
1984 Methanol. Plant at Point Lisas begins commercial production.
1985 Supplemental Petroleum Tax on marine operations reduced by 5% from 60% to 55% with effect from 1st January
1984.
1985 Submarine production allowance terminated with effect from 31.12.83.
1985 TEXTRIN is integrated with TRINTOC as some of its assets are acquired by GOTT.
1985 Fire on TRINTOC, Pointe-a-Pierre jetty kills 14 employees.
1985 AMOCO produces its 500 millionth barrel of crude oil i.e. 22.6% of total crude production for the country
at that date.
1985. GOTT acquired Tesoro Corporation's 49.9% equity in Trinidad-Tesoro Petroleum Company Limited for 3.23 million
barrels of residual fuel to be paid over a period of 18 months: May
1986 to November 1987. Name of the Company changed to Trinidad and Tobago Petroleum Company Limited. (TRINTOPEC).
1986 OPEC failed to agree on an oil production policy that could have reversed the collapse in world oil prices.
This decline in oil prices had a negative impact on the local oil industry.
1986 Compressed natural gas (as a substitute motor car fuel) pilot project is launched and the first CNG filling
station inaugurated.
1988 Three offshore blocks: 511, Lower Reverse 'L"-shaped and "U"-shaped blocks put up for competitive
bidding.
1988 GOTT revises Supplemental Petroleum Taxes and announces major tax incentives for workovers and marine heavy
oil production.
1988 Trintomar Limited incorporated to develop and operate acreage held by the SECC. Comprises Trintoc 40%, Trintopec
40% and NGC 20%.
1989 Bidding invited for four new blocks off the East Coast - Block 89/2, Block 89/3, Block 89/4 and Block 89/5.
1989 Introduction of the lease operatorship and farmout programme by Trintopec and Trintoc.
1989 Signing of the joint venture agreement for the formation of the Phoenix Park Gas Processors Ltd.
1989 Exploration and Production Licence signed for Block 5-11 (Trintopec/Mobil).
1990 Crude oil production falls by 1.3% in 1989 (to 149,344 bbls/day) compared with a decline of 2.1% in 1988 and
even larger declines in 1987 and 1986.
1990 Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago sign an oil cooperation agreement.
1991 Block 89/2 and 89/3 awarded to BHP (Americas) Inc. and Unocal Corporation respectively.
2001 BHP Billiton announces that wells Canteen1 and Kairi 1 encountered significant oil and gas cloumns in previously untested un discovere Oligocene sands.
2002 bptt begins installation of the worl'd second largest natural gas processing/production platform in Kapok Field.
2002 Train 2 of ALNG begins production.
2002 Production of natural gas begins from Hibiscus field on the North Coast.
2002 BHP Billiton declares commerciality of the Greater Angoustra Structure, reserves estimated at 1 billion barrels oil & 1 tcf gas.
2002 BG / Texaco announces Dorado 1 gas discovery in block 5a.
2002 bptt announces that Iron Horse 1s1t has found 1tcf natural gas.
2002 TED spuds first exploration well on south-west penninsula lease.
2002 Block U-b awarded to Primera and EOG.
2002 Vintage petroleum announces gas and condensate discovery at Carapal Ridge 1, onshore Trinidad, 1st since Navette in 1957.
2002 Block 3A awarded to the consortium of BHP Billiton (operator) , TFE, BG & Talisman.
2002 Eastern Block awarded to Talisman (joint venture).
2002 EOG announced commercial gas discovery with Parula 1 in in the SECC block.
2002 EOG awarded Reverse L block.
2002 MOE begins aquisition of Ultra deep water 2D seismic survey.
2002 Venture Petroleum began exploration and development drilling on the Point Ligoure Joint Venture.
2002 Commercial production began from Osprey Field (EOG)
2002 Exxon-Mobil drilled 2 wells in blocks 25(b) and 26, bptt in Block 27 (deep water).
2002 bptt announced Red Mango 2st1 as a gas/condensate discovery.
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THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
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