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Speaking to Newsday, he said the reserve to production ratio of ten years, revealed in the Ryder Scott report on the nation’s gas reserves, highlighted the need for commercial exploration activity to discover new reserves. He pointed out that this ration does not mean in ten years, the country’s natural gas supply will run out. Driver said the Chamber was “very much aligned” with government’s push to encourage new exploration.

Energy Minister Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan said at the launch of the report on Tuesday that government opened the current bid round for seven blocks in the North, East and West Coast in April. Bidding is expected to close in August.

She said so far eight companies have expressed interest in the bidding round, which Driver said was positive news. These blocks, Seepersad-Bachan said, comprise 870,000 hectares and are more expected to yield natural gas, but there is the possibility of oil reserves in at least three blocks.

A deep water bid round is expected to begin in August. Driver anticipates this bid round to be more successful that one held in 2006 because of a more attractive taxation regime to woo prospective companies, and because of the increase in geological work done by the government to seek out potential hydrocarbon reserves.

Driver said however, even if the bid rounds were successful there was still a challenge ahead in keeping skilled labour and machinery in Trinidad.

“There will not be any major exploration activity until 2012 because it will take some time for companies that win the production sharing contracts to do seismic work. In the meantime, there will be very limited activity for energy service companies. It is dangerous to lose skilled personnel out of Trinidad because when exploration does happen it will cost more to bring people and equipment back to Trinidad,” he said.

In an effort to maintain activity until that time, government should seek to stimulate activity in the traditional oil sector on-land and in the Gulf of Paria and to do this, there is need for fiscal reform in this sector.