LNG

Trinidad and Tobago’s Atlantic LNG terminal plans to shut its 6 mtpa Train 4 for up to 50 days in May and June for extensive maintenance and repairs, sources told Reuters. During the shutdown, the terminal will continue exporting LNG from Trains 2 and 3, which have a combined capacity of 6 mtpa.

JP Morgan considers Venezuelan gas as a “backfill option for Trinidad & Tobago’s LNG facilities." Train 1 of Trinidad LNG’s three liquefaction trains is currently idled due to a lack of domestic feedgas.

July 9 (LNGJ) - UK major Shell has taken a positive final investment decision to proceed with the Manatee natural gas project offshore Trinidad and Tobago to supply more feed gas to the Atlantic LNG export plant at Point Fortin in Trinidad. The Manatee gas field will provide backfill to Atlantic LNG as part of Shell’s strategy to boost utilisation at existing liquefaction plants.

   “This project will help meet the increasing demand for natural gas globally while also addressing the energy needs of our customers domestically in Trinidad and Tobago,” said Zoë Yujnovich, Shell’s Integrated Gas and Upstream Director. “The investment bolsters our world-leading LNG portfolio in line with our commitment to invest in competitive projects that deliver more value with less emissions,” she added.

Perenco, the European oil and gas company that has recently been increasing its upstream assets, is in talks with BP to acquire gas field interests in the Caribbean LNG exporting nation Trinidad and Tobago.

Dec 18 (LNGJ) - The UK is scheduled to receive at least three LNG cargoes in the coming week from Trinidad, Norway and the US Gulf Coast. The “Bilbao Knutsen” with 135,000 cubic metres capacity is scheduled to discharge a cargo from Trinidad on December 22 at the UK Dragon import terminal at the Port of Milford Haven. The cargo was loaded on November 21 at the Caribbean nation’s Point Fortin facility, according to shipping data.

   The “Arctic Princess” with 147,835 cubic metres capacity is due to deliver a cargo to the Dragon terminal on December 25 from the Hammerfest plant in northern Norway. The shipment was lifted on December 17 from the Norwegian facility. A second cargo is due for delivery to Milford Haven on December 25 at the South Hook terminal on board the “Traiano Knutsen” with 180,000 cubic metres capacity. That shipment was loaded on December 3 at Sempra’s Cameron plant in Louisiana.

The largest European energy major Shell posted a 47 percent drop in overall quarterly profits, reflecting lower LNG trading and optimisation results and a drop in oil and gas prices as well as refining margins.

UK major BP more than doubled annual profits, though was hit by slowing natural gas prices during the fourth quarter and expected a flat 2023 with among the main highlights being the start-up of two LNG projects in West Africa and Indonesia.

Trinidad and Tobago said the Caribbean nation would be opening formal talks with Venezuela following a US go-ahead to jointly develop a natural gas field that could help boost and safeguard LNG production from Trinidad’s Point Fortin LNG export plant.

UK-based oil and gas majors BP plc and Shell plc have agreed to restructure their ownership in Trinidad and Tobago’s Atlantic liquefied natural gas project at Point Fortin in Trinidad.

European offshore engineering and projects company Subsea 7 SA has been awarded a sizeable project by BP for the TOPR project located offshore Trinidad and Tobago in water depths of up to 280 feet and aimed at boosting natural gas supplies and LNG production.

BP Trinidad and Tobago (BPTT) runs the Trinidad compression (TROC) project as part of plans to deliver more feed gas.

Subsea 7, the Oslo-listed company headquartered in Luxembourg, said the latest part of the project covers the installation of a 96 kilometres of 12-inch pipeline, associated shore approach and diver tie-in spools.

Front-end engineering and design (FEED) is underway and the EPC and installation scope is scheduled to begin this month.

Subsea 7 said that project management and engineering would take place in Subsea 7’s office in Houston in Texas.

“We are honoured to have been selected for the fast-track delivery of the TOPR project and we look forward to continuing our collaborative relationship with BP,” said Craig Broussard, Vice President for Subsea 7 in the US.

Subsea 7 noted that its defines a sizeable contract as being between $50 million and $150M

Low-pressure wells

The latest facilities are expected to improve production capacity by increasing output from low-pressure wells in BPTT’s existing acreage.

The TROC project is viewed by BP as a clear example of BPTT, the government and many key players in the oil and gas industry cooperating to improve production capacity, which will benefit both the petrochemical plants and Atlantic LNG.

Production at the Atlantic LNG plant dropped by more than 38 percent in 2021 to 6.20 million tonnes compared with just over 10MT in the previous year.

Atlantic LNG Train 1 has been idle since November 2020 because of a feed-gas shortage and was closed indefinitely in mid-2021.

In January 2022 a heads of agreement was signed between BP, Shell and the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago and the Government to consolidate Atlantic LNG Trains under the framework of a single ownership structure.

Shell, the major Atlantic LNG shareholder, had started production in July 2021 on Block 5C, known as the Barracuda project, a backfill gas production venture to supply feed gas to the Atlantic plant.

The decline in gas production has been the major reason for the shortages being experienced by the country and BPTT’s own Matapal natural gas project was also completed in 2021 and will be able to shore-up potential supplies.