By Vernon Khelawan Thursday, November 19 2009

ATLANTIC LNG had its best year of production in 2008, surpassing its set target for the year. The 2008 target was 769.87 (TBTU), but total annual production for the year under review was actually 775.1 (TBTU).

The success was a point made by Chief Executive Officer Oscar Prieto in his review of the company published in its first annual Sustainability Report.

It was also pointed out that production volumes exceeded targets and additionally, the Fourth Quarter’s performance set an industry record for a four-train facility.

Since it began shipping LNG on May 01 1999, through the end of 2008, Atlantic LNG has loaded more than 130 billion cubic metres of natural gas into 1560 ships. Combined, the four trains being operated and managed by the company are capable of producing up to 100,000 cubic metres of LNG per day, which is enough energy to power the entire US for 1.4 months.

In a commentary on the oil and gas sector, the report pointed out that petroleum reserves globally are expected to peak and decline over the next 30 to 50 years and where Trinidad and Tobago is concerned the Ryder-Scott report has estimated that without any new discoveries and at current rates of production, the natural gas reserves of this country will be exhausted by 2025, just 16 years away. Trinidad and Tobago is reducing its proven reserves by more than one trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas every year.

The report points out that since the oil and natural gas sector contributes as much as eight percent of the country’s foreign revenue, “it is incumbent on the government and companies in this sector to recognise the limits of the resource.” It also points out, “There is a slowly increasing awareness that not only must the country look beyond oil and gas to develop a long-term sustainable economy, but also that oil and gas companies are a cornerstone for investment into this new economy.”

The question can be asked. What is this big deal about sustainability? CEO Prieto explains, “Three strategic aims underpin our Being the Best Vision – Operational Excellence, Capability Growth and Sustainability.”

He adds, “Since 2007, our growing engagement with sustainability has caused us to view this strategic aim as the bedrock of every aspect of our operations and the true cornerstone to our Being the Best strategy. Quite simply, we cannot assume industry leadership without regard for generations to come who are depending on us to maximise and sustain the value that the finite resource of natural gas can provide to the present and the future.

“This requires,” Prieto continued, “an increased external focus, building partnerships with stakeholders in our home community of Point Fortin and also at the national level in order to help create programmes that foster sustainable development.”

Touching on the social dimension, Prieto said the company’s contribution is more than mere dollars and cents and more than being the largest employer in Point Fortin. “More importantly, “ he said, “our contribution is in the hearts and minds of our people and their engagement with ideas about how future generations of citizens of Trinidad and Tobago can benefit from our company’s stewardship of the finite resource of natural gas.”

He said the story of Atlantic LNG is the story of our people and the story of how sustainability continued to be built into our operations and into our people’s thinking and by extension into Point Fortin and Trinidad and Tobago.

In his turn and still on sustainability, company chairman Gordon Deane said, “We believe that our success is going to depend on our understanding of sustainability – that way of doing business focused on building economic, social and environmental value for the present and the future.”