Above: Port of Spain (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Trinidad and Tobago’s energy sector grew by 2.4 percent in the last quarter of 2013, according to data from the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs.

That number was in line with a recent estimate by the country’s Central Bank, which similarly pegged the sector at 2.4 percent growth.

“This growth was driven by higher natural gas output and high oil production,” the Energy Ministry said in a statement released on Monday. “The growth in the fourth quarter comes on the heels of the end of the largest maintenance programme in the history of the country that was conducted by BP, BG, Point Lisas companies and Atlantic and coordinated by the NGC and the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs.”

Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine said the country’s natural gas production would emphasize four areas: the coming on to production of the BP Savonette 7 well, the launch of BP’s Juniper development, drilling on Amherstaia by BP and the BG/Chevron Starfish development.

As for oil production this year, Ramnarine said the emphasis would be on Petrotrin “with a focus on Trinmar.”

Trinidad’s Energy Ministry was to hold its annual technical meeting with global energy giant BP to discuss the company’s “medium-term plans,” it said.