Assessing the Socioeconomic Impacts of Petroleum Exploration and Production Operations on Rural Communities in Southern Trinidad

Abstract

An integral component of an Environmental Impact Assessment is the Socio-economic Assessment. The purpose of these assessments is to identify and evaluate potential impacts of proposed projects on the socio-economic environment of fenceline communities that would most likely be directly impacted by the project. With the enactment of the Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) Rules in Trinidad in 2001, Exploration and Production (E&P) companies must now apply to the Environmental Management Authority for an environmental permit for any activity designated under these rules. As a result, oil and gas operators in Trinidad have collected a significant amount of socioeconomic data as part of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA?s) and Environmental Baseline Surveys for CEC applications. The state owned oil company, Petrotrin, set the standard for conducting socio-economic assessments for energy development projects in Trinidad and did so on a voluntary basis before the CEC Rules were enacted using guidelines developed by the Regional Association of Oil and Natural Gas Companies in Latin America and the Caribbean (ARPEL). In conducting socio-economic assessments, surveys were conducted for households, community leaders, business proprietors and focus groups. Generally 25% of the population are interviewed in the process to determine their views and aspirations on potential impacts of oil and gas E&P projects based on their historical experience. If effectively conducted, socio-economic assessments are a valuable tool for determining community needs and ensuring win- win partnerships between oil and gas companies and the communities in which they operate. This paper describes the process by which Petrotrin has conducted socio-economic assessments for EIA's and Environmental Baseline Surveys for fenceline communities where E&P development activities are planned. It also seeks to give an historical overview of how E&P operations have impacted fence line communities in southern Trinidad over the 20th century. Introduction Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (Petrotrin) operates the majority of onshore acreages in Trinidad which extend across the southern half of the island. Trinidad's oil industry celebrated it's centennial anniversary in 2002 as the first commercially successful well was drilled in 1902 in Guayaguayare near the south-east coast of the island.Since then Trinidad's oil industry has flourished over the 20th century under Petrotrin and its predecessor companies. As part of the company's drive to increase domestic crude supply to the company's refinery at Pointe-a Pierre, development drilling activity has been targeted at stranded reserves from mature and marginal fields in the south-west peninsula of Trinidad. Another strategy for Petrotrin to stem declining production and lower lifting costs is the Lease and Farmout and Joint Venture programs which began in the early 1990's. These programs are managed by Petrotrin through the Joint Venture operations (JVO) department. Marginal wells and acreages were leased or farmed out to independent operators who could explore, drill and produce oil at a lower cost than Petrotrin thus permitting the reactivation of idle wells. The success of this program has resulted in over 700 idle wells being reactivated and over 110 wells being drilled. It is likely that most of the EIA's for onshore exploration and production projects will be conducted by Petrotrin's joint venture partners, or by Petrotrin on behalf of these operators.

Environmental Conflict and Media Coverage of an Oil Spill in Trinidad

“…By February 2014, the estimated cost of the cleanup was put at 50 million TTD (6.46 TTD = 1 USD), but the effect on the fisherfolk, nearby communities, coast line, sea, marine life, and mangrove had not yet been computed. However, Baptiste and Nordenstam (2010, p., 295) cite research by Khan (2005) indicating that among fence-line communities closest to oil spills in Trinidad, 20-45% of residents polled reported being adversely affected. They used newspaper reports to conclude that the environmental effects of the oil and gas industry had not received adequate attention even after 100 years of oil exploration.…”