Beowulf, First Reserve sign on for Caribbean pipeline

The Eastern Caribbean Gas Pipeline project has acquired two new majority owners — Beowulf Energy LLC (Beowulf) out of New York and First Reserve Energy Infrastructure Fund (FREIF), which has offices in Greenwich, Houston, Hong Kong and London.

The news was announced this week by the Eastern Caribbean Gas Pipeline Company, which is developing a natural gas export pipeline from Trinidad and Tobago to islands in the Eastern Caribbean. Speaking to Newsday yesterday, chief executive of ECGPC Gregory Rich said having both companies on board is an achievement.

“It is the achievement of a goal ECGPC has had since its inception — to get sponsors with industry expertise, credibility and the necessary money, to ensure this pipeline is built and managed to the highest standards,” Rich said.

“The deal was signed Tuesday evening, with documents being faxed back and forth. First Reserve’s decision to invest in this project is a sign of just how advanced our legal, contractual and regulatory approvals really are. They are the bigger monetary investor and they don’t get involved in a project unless they’re confident it will get done.

Beowulf is known for its expertise in these types of projects and is already familiar with Trinidad, as it operates and manages Trinity Power in Pt Lisas.”

The estimated cost of the project is now US $900 million, up from last year’s reported estimate of US$800 million. In 2006, three years after the project was launched, it was valued at US$550 million.

In Phase I of the project, ECGPC will construct and operate a 300 kilometre natural gas pipeline from the Cove Point Estate in Tobago to Barbados. Phase II involves extending the pipeline from Barbados to other Eastern Caribbean islands.

Eastern Caribbean Gas said the gas pipeline is expected to significantly lower the cost of producing electricity in countries such as Barbados which rely primarily on fuel oil to produce electricity.

ECGPC is a company incorporated under the Trinidad and Tobago Companies Act of 1995. Prior to the transaction being announced herein, the shareholders in ECGPC were Guardian Holdings Limited, Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation, The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited and Intra-Caribbean Gas Pipeline Company Limited.