Above: Trinidad (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Trinidad is reporting a 2 percent increase in oil/condensate output in the fourth quarter of 2014.

That was revealed by the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs last week.

The increase in the Caribbean country’s output came despite a shutdown of BHP’s facilities for maintenance in mid-November and early December, the government said.

National oil production also averaged 81,000 barrels of oil per day in 2014, roughly the same as output in 2013.

That came after a five-year period in 2006 and 2011 that saw a “precipitous decline” in production.

All of Repsol, Leni Gas and Oil and BPTT saw increases in production in 2014.

“The slide in oil production that started in 2006 has been halted over the last three years,” said Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine. “We expect oil production in 2015 to be slightly higher than what obtained in 2014.”