 | |
| Type | State owned |
|---|---|
| Industry | Asphalt |
| Founded | 1851 |
| Headquarters | Trinidad |
Key people | Garry Solomon, (CEO) |
| Website | www.trinidadlakeasphalt.com |
Lake Asphalt of Trinidad and Tobago is a company based in La Brea in Trinidad involved in the mining, processing and exporting of asphalt products from the Pitch Lake.
The business was founded in 1851 by the tenth Earl of Dundonald who took out a patent for the use of asphalt from the Lake at La Brea. [1] J.W. Previte and A.L Barber later joined the team and in 1888 secured a 21-year concession for the exploitation of the Lake. [1] In 1949 the business was renamed The Trinidad Lake Asphalt Company. [1] Ownership remained with the Previte Company based in the UK which comprised a network approximately 24 public companies around the world through which the asphalt was sold. [2]
The Limmer & Trinidad Lake Asphalt Company became the first contractor to use asphalt from the Lake for road surfacing. [1] In the early 1970s, when the UK market switched to coal tar, asphalt became a much less popular product and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago took ownership of the asphalt extraction business in 1978. [1]
Asphalt from the Lake is currently sold throughout the world as a modifier for refinery bitumen. [2]
Bitumen is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. In the U.S., it is commonly referred to as asphalt. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term asphaltum was also used. The word is derived from the ancient Greek ἄσφαλτος ásphaltos. The largest natural deposit of bitumen in the world, estimated to contain 10 million tons, is the Pitch Lake in southwest Trinidad.
GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (1955–1982), was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System. The company operated from 1926, with roots tracing further back than that, until 2000, when it was acquired by Bell Atlantic; the combined company took the name Verizon.
The history of Trinidad and Tobago begins with the settlements of the islands by Indigenous First Peoples. Trinidad was visited by Christopher Columbus on his third voyage in 1498,, and claimed in the name of Spain. Trinidad was administered by Spanish hands until 1797, but it was largely settled by French colonists. Tobago changed hands between the British, French, Dutch, and Courlanders, but eventually ended up in British hands following the second Treaty of Paris (1814). In 1889, the two islands were incorporated into a single political entity. Trinidad and Tobago obtained its independence from the British Empire in 1962 and became a republic in 1976.
Port of Spain (officially the City of Port of Spain, is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municipal population of 37,074, an urban population of 81,142 and a transient daily population of 250,000. It is located on the Gulf of Paria, on the northwest coast of the island of Trinidad and is part of a larger conurbation stretching from Chaguaramas in the west to Arima in the east with an estimated population of 600,000.
Tar pits, sometimes referred to as asphalt pits, are large asphalt deposits. They form in the presence of oil, which is created when decayed organic matter is subjected to pressure underground. If this crude oil seeps upward via fractures, conduits, or porous sedimentary rock layers, it may pool up at the surface. The lighter components of the crude oil evaporate into the atmosphere, leaving behind a black, sticky asphalt. Tar pits are often excavated because they contain large fossil collections.
The La Brea Tar Pits is an active paleontological research site in urban Los Angeles. Hancock Park was formed around a group of tar pits where natural asphalt has seeped up from the ground for tens of thousands of years. Over many centuries, the bones of trapped animals have been preserved. The George C. Page Museum is dedicated to researching the tar pits and displaying specimens from the animals that died there. La Brea Tar Pits is a registered National Natural Landmark.
La Brea is a town in southwestern Trinidad, located northeast of Point Fortin and southwest of San Fernando. La Brea is best known as the site of the Pitch Lake, a natural asphalt lake. Pronunciation of "La Brea" differs from that used in the USA at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. Trinidadians call this place "La Bray".
The Pitch Lake is the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world, estimated to contain 10 million tons. It is located in La Brea in southwest Trinidad, within the Siparia Regional Corporation. The lake covers about 100 acres and is reported to be 250 feet deep.
Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Limited is a large telephone and Internet service provider in Trinidad and Tobago. The company, which is jointly owned by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and Cable & Wireless Communications, was formed out of a merger of Telco and Textel. TSTT no longer holds a monopoly in fixed-line telephone services due to FLOW introducing a fixed-line service of their own, and their cellular monopoly was broken in June 2005 when licenses were granted to Digicel and Laqtel.
Alphonso Philbert Theophilus "Fargo" James, born in Black Rock, Tobago, was a Trinidad and Tobago politician. He was elected to the Legislative Council in 1946. He served in the Legislative Council until 1961 when he was defeated by A. N. R. Robinson. James was known as "Fargo", after a brand of trucks, because of his strength and tendency to crush opponents. He was known as being a proponent of Tobagonian secession from Trinidad and Tobago.
Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) is the sole retailer of electricity in Trinidad and Tobago. It is responsible for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the country's electrical transmission and distribution network. The utility supplies electric power to customers on both islands via a single interconnected grid. Electrical energy is widely been purchased, metered and feed into the national grid from independent power producers. These producers are the Power Generation Company of Trinidad and Tobago (PowerGen) giving a total of 1,344 MW, Trinidad Generation Unlimited (TGU) giving 720MW and Trinity Power Ltd. giving 225 MW. All power stations in Trinidad and Tobago are fueled by hydrocarbons.
The 2010–11 Trinidad and Tobago FA Trophy was the 81st season of the FA Trophy, which is the oldest football competition for teams in Trinidad and Tobago. Joe Public entered as the tournament's defending champion, who defeated W Connection in the 2009 final. The tournament commenced on 17 November 2010, with 32 teams competing in single elimination matches and concluded on 25 January 2011.
Lake Guanoco is the world's second largest natural tar pit and lies in Venezuela in northern South America.
The McKittrick Tar Pits are a series of natural asphalt lakes situated in the western part of Kern County in southern California. The pits are the most extensive asphalt lakes in the state.
The Carpinteria Tar Pits are a series of natural asphalt lakes situated in the southern part of Santa Barbara County in southern California, US.
Limmer Holdings was a major contracting business based in London.
The Petrotrin oil spill was a series of oil spills that occurred on the island of Trinidad and Tobago.
Beijing Oriental Yuhong Waterproof Technology Co., Ltd., commonly abbreviated as Oriental Yuhong, is a waterproof system service provider, founded in 1998. It prevailingly produces water-based waterproof coatings for applications. After being approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission for IPO, it officially went public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on September 10, 2008.
Barber Asphalt Company of Washington, D.C. started in 1883 was founded by Amzi L. Barber. Barber, born in 1843. Barber first career was a teaching professor, he moved to real estate. In real estate, he found the problem of needing affordable paved roads. He found that asphalt was a great affordable material for paved roads. He added asphalt shingles to his products. In 1879 he moved Headquarters to New York City. He had offices in Washington, D.C. from 1878 to 1912, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1912 to 1938 and Maurer, Perth Amboy, New Jersey from 1938 to 1948. In 1888 Barber leased the largest know asphalt deposit at Pitch Lake Trinidad. Barber opened a subsidiary, called the Iroquois division, and Iroquois Electric Refrigeration Company. Elkins Widener purchased the company in 1898 and merged with his Trinidad Corporation subsidiary. This formed the Asphalt Company of America of New York. In 1899 Asphalt Company of America was sold to John M. Mack and renamed, National Asphalt Company of America. In 1901 Barber retired from the Barber Asphalt Company. National Asphalt Company of America closed in 1902. In 1903 it opened again as General Asphalt Company. Uintah Railway Company was founded in 1903 by the Barber Asphalt Paving Company. Barber has paved millions of miles of roads. In 1904 Barber returned the company. In the 1920s Barber Asphalt Company opened a refinery in Perth Amboy, New Jersey at the time the town was known as Barber. The Barber Asphalt refinery is now the Perth Amboy Refinery. General Asphalt and Barber division merged in 1936. After the merger, the name was changed to Barber Company, Inc.. In 1938 the name was changed to Barber Asphalt Corporation. Barber Asphalt entered into a joint venture with Standard Oil Company of California in 1946. The joint venture was called California Refining Company.