Dr the Honourable Roodal Moonilal Minister of Energy and Energy Industries along with Permanent Secretaries at the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries met twice in the recent past with ExxonMobil officials and remain engaged with the company on the progress of the operations related to the recently awarded block TTUD-1.
This is in keeping with The Honourable Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s call for maintaining momentum in exploration and production, after the landmark award of Block TTUD-1 to ExxonMobil by the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, on 12th August 2025.
At a meeting held on 3rd September 2025, Minister Moonilal and Ms. Penelope Bradshaw-Niles, Permanent Secretary received an update from Dr Bram Willemsen, Trinidad and Tobago Operations Manager, ExxonMobil.
At this meeting Dr Willemsen outlined that Block TTUD-1 operations projected for the next six (6) months remained on track. Among the operations identified were applications for permits and the geological and geophysical work which are required in preparation for conducting a seismic survey which is scheduled for the start of second quarter 2026. Dr Willemsen also committed to accelerating the timeline for the execution of the minimum work commitment for the project.
At another meeting held on 9th September 2025, Dr the Honourable Roodal Moonilal, Minister of Energy and Energy Industries and Mr Marc Rudder, Permanent Secretary (Ag.) met with Mr Paul Riley, President ExxonMobil Trinidad and Tobago Deepwater Limited and Dr. Gboyega Ayeni, Senior Business Development Advisor Exploration and New Ventures, ExxonMobil.
At this meeting, the ExxonMobil officials provided further updates on the plans for conducting the necessary seismic surveys, and opportunities for local content participation to support these operations. The officials also indicated that ExxonMobil aims to share expertise and collaborate with the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries to advance mutual objectives and to support the regulatory processes and capacity for deep water operations.
Dr the Honourable Roodal Moonilal, Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, welcomed the respective updates and shared the Government’s vision for local participation, grounded in Trinidad and Tobago’s decades of experience in the energy sector. The Minister also emphasized the importance of the establishment of meaningful partnerships for the advancement of the regional energy sector. Both parties remain committed to the development of the block and to maintaining open and constructive lines of communication.