LNG

April 1 (LNGJ) - Shell said production had started on Block 22 and NCMA-4 in the North Coast Marine Area in Trinidad and Tobago to boost LNG production capability at the Point Fortin liquefaction plant in Trinidad called Atlantic LNG. Colibri is a backfill project that is expected to add around 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or 174 million standard cubic feet per day of sustained near-term natural gas production, rising to 250 mmscf per day at peak.

   “The start-up of Colibri follows the amendment to the Block 6 Production Sharing Contract for the Manatee field, marking yet another significant milestone in Shell’s growth strategy,” said Shell. “This will allow for the delivery of gas both domestically and internationally through Atlantic LNG,” added the UK-based major.

Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean nation shipping cargoes from the Atlantic LNG facility at Point Fortin in Trinidad, will have access to more feed gas after Royal Dutch Shell started production at a new gas field.

Shell said natural gas was now flowing from “Project Barracuda”, otherwise known as Block 5C in the East Coast Marine Area (ECMA) of Trinidad and Tobago.

“This marks a significant milestone in the delivery of gas both domestically and internationally through Atlantic LNG,” stated the Anglo-Dutch company.

Project Barracuda is a backfill venture amounting to around 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or 140 million standard cubic feet per day of gas, of sustained near-term output with peak production expected to be about 40,000 boe per day, or 220 mmscf per day.

“It is Shell’s first greenfield project in the country and one of its largest in Trinidad and Tobago since the BG Group (2017) acquisition,” stated Shell.

The new feed-gas resources are a boost for the plant in Trinidad that saw exports drop in 2020 by 19.3 percent to 10.08 million tonnes.

Before the shale-gas boom in North America, Trinidad was the main LNG supplier to import terminals in the US, now the world's third-largest LNG exporter.

Shell is a major shareholder in Atlantic LNG with equity shares in the four liquefaction Trains at the Point Fortin facility ranging between 46.0 percent to 57.5 percent.

Maarten Wetselaar, Director of Integrated Gas, Renewable and Energy Solutions at Shell, said that Project Barracuda strengthened the “resilience and competitiveness” of Shell’s position in Trinidad and Tobago.

“This is a key growth opportunity that supports our long-term strategy in the country as well as our global LNG growth ambitions,” stated Wetselaar.

Eugene Okpere, Shell’s Senior VP and Country Chair, said he was delighted with the start of production.

“We are immensely proud of our people and the remarkable work it took to achieve this milestone, particularly given that drilling began in May 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic,” explained Okpere.

“Our execution strategy had to be completely overhauled to deliver our business plan, all while working remotely. It required tremendous resilience, adaptability and commitment,” he said.

Shell noted that ECMA is one of the most prolific gas-producing areas in Trinidad and Tobago.

As part of Shell’s development strategy in the region, the company had sought ways to access the significant volumes that exist there and bring them on stream.

The Barracuda Project comprises two subsea wells, both 100 percent owned by Shell, one in the Endeavour field and the other in the Bounty field.

Both wells are tied back to Shell’s Dolphin platform.

“These are two of the deepest development wells in Trinidad and Tobago,” said Shell.

“Endeavour was drilled to a depth of 20,000 feet (6,096 metres) while Bounty was drilled to a depth of 16,000 feet (4,877 metres),” it explained.

Shell said it now looked forward to the delivery of the four-well development project in Block 22 and NCMA 4, known as the Colibri Project.

This is a joint venture with Heritage Petroleum Co., the emerging Trinidad and Tobago oil and gas company, with first gas from Colibri expected in 2022.