Rosemarie Sant
Nine years after the official start of the Liquid Fuels Pipeline project, the facility located at Frederick Settlement, Caroni, is said to be only “92 per cent complete” and the National Gas Company (NGC) is now saying that completion is now targeted for the third quarter of this year.
The facility is due to become “fully operational” at the end of this year, and while the company remains mum on the cost of the facility official figures indicate that by the time the project is completed the project which was initially earmarked to cost just under $800m will actually cost taxpayers closer to $1.2 b.
The Government-funded project was initiated in December 2007 under the then People’s National Movement and was a combined effort involving Petrotrin, NGC and the National Petroleum Marketing Company-NPMC.
In August, 2009, the project was reported to be 68 per cent complete. The forecast then was for completion in September/October 2010 at an estimated cost of $739 million.
NGC’s Acting Corporate Communications Manager Lisa Burkett did not provide information on the final cost of the project or when it would become operational. In response to a list of questions seeking information, Burkett response was: “NGC is in the final stages of completion of the Liquid Fuels Pipeline project. The project is about 92 per cent completed.”
Seeking answers to the cost of the project to taxpayers an examination or past budgetary documents revealed in 2012-2013 State Enterprises Investment Programme the project was 95 per cent complete. It said the estimated cost was revised from $597 million to $832.3 million dollars.
In the 2016 budgetary SEIP document indicated that the project was “99 per cent complete.” It noted that the initial estimated cost of the project was $832.8m, but that was revised to $1.128b “due to changes in the scope of works.”
The estimated expenditure on the project up to March last year according to the Finance Ministry document was $1.125b.
The document indicated that a further expenditure of $60 million was required for the period April to September 2015 and $20 million was required for 2016 for the construction of the bund wall, civil works, project management and commissioning. It said the Jet A1 fuel pipeline was scheduled for completion and handover by the end of fiscal 2015.
Petrotrin’s Acting Corporate Communications Manager George Commissiong confirmed to the GML Enterprise Desk that commissioning with Jet A-1 fuel only has begun and will continue in the second quarter of 2016.
Commissiong said this would continue in the second quarter of 2016 followed by commissioning with the other fuel types by the third and fourth quarter of 2016.
On Friday, NGC said “all major civil activities as per the original design are substantially completed including the two pipelines. Final mechanical, electrical and instrumentation works are currently in progress and estimated schedule for completion is by the end of Q3 2016.”
Commissiong said in September 2014 the then government mandated that Petrotrin establish a subsidiary company to own and operate the multi-fuel pipeline and the new fuel facility at Caroni. He said the Liquid Fuels Company of T&T would therefore be “responsible for the operations of the facility post-commissioning.”
About the plant
The Liquid Fuels Pipeline system is designed to transport 1.6 million gallons or 42,000 barrels per day of refined distillates, specifically two types of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. The pipeline starts at Petrotrin’s Point-a-Pierre refinery and ends at Frederick Settlement, Caroni. NGC said a jet fuel pipeline was also constructed from the Caroni facility to Piarco to serve the needs of the Piarco International Airport.
NGC explained that “safety is premium on this project,” as the “system will make the transportation of liquid fuels safer, more reliable and more efficient.” Currently aged top loading fuel gantries at Pointe-a-Pierre and Sea Lots are used and the liquid fuels are then transported by marine tanker from Petrotrin to the NP facility at Sea Lots in Port of Spain.
The fuels pipeline is intended to replace the marine tanker between Petrotrin and NP Sea Lots. It will also no longer be necessary for tank wagons to carry jet fuel on the roads, which means that there will no longer be need for the road tank wagons which carry the fuel to Piarco.