CentRE of Excellence.

What is CCUS?

CCUS or Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage is a series of technologies that involve capturing Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions from large point sources, such as power generation or industrial facilities, and either utilizing it to develop marketable products or transporting and storing the CO2 in underground geological formations such as depleted oil and gas reservoirs or saline aquifers. CCUS applications provide pathways to significantly reduce this greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere in support of global net-zero goals and to mitigate the effects of global warming and climate change. When combined with bioenergy (known as BECCS), negative emissions can be achieved.

Establishing a Centre of Excellence for CCUS Training, Research & Development

The objective of establishing the CCUS-C Centre of Excellence is to provide services to Government and State Agencies, Energy Sector Companies and Academic Institutions — locally, regionally and internationally, as follows:

Provide academic/lectureship, research and supervisory support in areas of CCUS – Policy, Legal, Technical and Regulatory, Public Awareness, Geoscience & Well/Reservoir Engineering, and integration with Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Studies.
Development of self-financing post graduate courses and program in Carbon and Gas Management; development of short courses and micro-credentialed programs in CCS.
Training in various software for CCS application.
Develop Project Proposals and conduct applied research, advisory & consulting services on Experimental and Simulation Studies for CCS in depleted oil and Gas Reservoirs and saline aquifers.
Conduct Studies on the utilization of oilfield wastewater and Municipal wastewater for blue and green Hydrogen Production.
Conduct studies on green methanol and green ammonia production.
Develop a Pilot CCS Project for Trinidad and Tobago. A first for the Caribbean Region.
Develop local and global partnerships on CCUS.
Build local capacity in the areas of CCUS.
Provide technical services and training to the Energy/Industrial Sectors, Government and other stakeholders in CCUS and Carbon and Gas Management.

Outreach Activities

Training

Training on field upscaling, simulation and forecasting using the CCUS–DESIGN–PRO Software was conducted by ESGWAY in August 2024 for The UWI/UTT CCS team, MEEI and HPCL Technical Working Group for CO2–EOR in HPCL Western Fields.

Internal training for The UWI/UTT CCS team on CO2–EOR with CO2 Storage was conducted in January 2025. Training on CO2-EOR simulation studies using field data was conducted by CMG during February 2025 for The UWI/UTT CCS team, MEEI and HPCL Technical Working Group for CO2–EOR in HPCL Western Fields.

Symposium

A draft report of the second International Symposium entitled “Towards a Net-Zero Carbon Future with CCS: “Synergizing Stakeholders, Milestones and the Way-Forward” was held on September 6, 2025 and more than 125 persons participated. A draft report is available.

Conferences

17th Greenhouse Gas Technology Conference (GHGT–17), October 2024.

Presentations were made as follows:

David Alexander, Raffie Hosein, Andrew Jupiter and Penelope Bradshaw-Niles. 2024. “Towards the Development of a Carbon Capture and Storage Hub in Trinidad and Tobago: PART 1”. Presented at the 17th Greenhouse Gas Technology Conference (GHGT–17), October 20th–24th, 2024, TELUS Convention Centre Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Deborah Ramnath and Raffie Hosein. 2024. “Z–Factors with Hydrocarbon Gas Impurity”. Presented at the 17th Greenhouse Gas Technology Conference (GHGT–17), October 20 to 24, 2024, TELUS Convention Centre Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

United Nations Climate Change Conference – COP29, November 2024.

Presentations were made remotely during the CARICOM pavilion session on November 20th, 2024 as follows:

Professor Raffie Hosein (The UWI/UTT) and Professor David Alexander (UTT) presented on the Topic: “Development of Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage Projects in Trinidad & Tobago”.
Professor Donnie Boodlal (UTT) presented on the topic: Trinidad and Tobago’s Potential Role in the Caribbean Region – “Moving from a CCUS Collaborate to CCUS Centre of Excellence”.

CCUS Latin America Conference, May 2025.

The Collaborate was officially invited by the organisers of CCUS Latin America to present and participate in the panel discussion on Investment, Public Policies and Regulation: Key Enablers for CCUS Scalability in Latin America and the Caribbean, on Wednesday, 28 May. For this panel discussion we have been asked to present on the establishment and operation of the Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Collaborate (CCUS–C) which has been established between UWI and UTT since May 2024. This presentation was well received and an open call was made by the Coordinator of the Collaborate Professor Raffie Hosein for the establishment CCUS Centre of Excellence (CoE) for the Latin America and Caribbean Region.

Three (3) Poster Presentations were also made as follows:

Control ID: 4268024
Abstract Title: Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in Trinidad and Tobago: A first Step Towards the Establishment of a Regional Hub
Authors: David Alexander; Raffie Hosein; Andrew Jupiter; Penelope Bradshaw-Niles
Control ID: 4267779
Abstract Title: Phase Behaviour of CO₂-CH₄-H₂O and CO₂-CH₄-NaCl-H₂O Systems: Implications for Instantaneous CO₂ Storage in Depleted Gas Reservoirs and Saline Aquifers
Authors: Deborah Ramnath; Raffie Hosein; Robbie Lansangan
Control ID: 4267402
Abstract Title: Geochemical Insights into Carbon Capture and Storage with Enhanced Oil Recovery in Trinidad and Tobago: A Numerical Simulation Approach
Authors: David Alexander; Rean Maharaj; Raffie Hosein; Donnie Boodlal.

Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) ATCE, October 2025.

In October 2025, Professor Hosein and Professor Jupiter attended and delivered a technical presentation at the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) in Houston, Texas as follows: Paper Number SPE-228110-MS entitled “Carbon Capture and Storage In Trinidad And Tobago: A First Step Towards The Establishment Of A Regional Hub. The authors are D. Alexander, The University of Trinidad & Tobago; R. Hosein, The University of West Indies, St Augustine; A. Jupiter, The University of Trinidad & Tobago, and P. Bradshaw–Niles, Ministry of Energy & Energy Industries, Trinidad and Tobago.

Visit to the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas, Austin, Texas, October 2025.

During the period October 24 to 28, 2025, Professor Hosein (The UWI/UTT), Professor Jupiter (UTT) Professor Alexander (UTT) and Professor Boodlal (UTT) visited at the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) at the University of Texas, Austin, Texas. At the BEG work was conducted with Professor Kathryn Romanak and her team on the technical data requirements and analysis of CO₂ Storage in Saline Aquifers in Trinidad and Tobago using the EASiTOOL. In addition, a Scope of Work (SOW) was developed for Quantification and Characterization of Geologic Carbon Sinks in Trinidad’s Saline Aquifers followed by a Pilot Project Technical Roadmap. Professor Hosein made a presentation to the BEG.

United Nations Climate Change Conference – COP30, November 2025.

Presentations were made as follows:

Professor Hosein attended COP30 in-person in Belém, Brazil, from November 8 to 15, 2025 and presented under the side event theme: The Role of Non-State Actors in LATAM and Caribbean countries. Professor Hosein (The UWI/UTT) presented on the topic: Role of the CCUS Research Collaborate Centre in Trinidad and Tobago – A Working Relationship between The UWI and UTT.
Professor Boodlal presented virtually an Update on the GCF Project: CCS in Saline Aquifers in Trinidad and Tobago.

The organisers of this side event were The University of Texas at Austin, IEAGHG, Bellona, CCSA and the International CCS Knowledge Centre.

Funding Support

The CCUS Collaborate provided funding support to Ms. Makeda Broomes who was accepted to attend the 2025 IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme (IEAGHG) International Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Summer School, held at the University of Regina, July 13th–19th, 2025, in Regina, Saskatchewan, hosted by the International CCS Knowledge Centre. Congratulations to Makeda and her team on winning the best Group Award. Makeda will share her knowledge and experience gained on CCS by making a public presentation at one of the local SPE Technical sessions.