Shell has signed an agreement with Trinidad and Tobago's National Gas Company (NGC) to supply gas to the latter from the planned Manatee field located offshore Trinidad and Tobago.
The two parties initially signed the domestic gas sales contract (DGSC) in 2019 for gas produced from the Barracuda (Block 5C) project on the east coast of Trinidad.
Under the amended DGSC, NGC will receive at least 150 million cubic feet per day of gas from the Manatee field.
In a press statement, NGC said: “The amended DGSC will entitle NGC to purchase gas produced from one of the country’s largest offshore fields, to supply to the downstream sector across the medium term.”
Shell Trinidad and Tobago senior vice-president and country chair Eugene Okpere said: “This domestic gas sales contract is further evidence of Shell’s commitment to partnering with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to achieve its goal of energy security.
“Today also marks a critical step toward enabling Shell’s next milestone of Final Investment Decision for the development of the Manatee project.”
A part of the cross-border Loran-Manatee discovery shared by Trinidad and Venezuela, the Manatee field is estimated to hold around ten trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas.
Of the total reserves, 2.7tcf is on Trinidad’s side and the remaining 7.3tcf on Venezuela’s side.
NGC president Mark Loquan said: “Manatee represents a significant resource for Trinidad and Tobago, and every step we take toward bringing this field online brightens our prospects for future domestic supply.
“We do recognise that we have some distance to travel before we can access gas from Manatee, but we are committed to the outcome and optimistic that we can bring this project to fruition, in partnership with all stakeholders.”
In 2019, the Trinidad and Tobago Government signed an agreement with the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to independently develop its share of hydrocarbon resources from the Loran-Manatee Gas field. This field straddles the maritime border between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
Recently, a consortium of bp and Shell signed an agreement with Trinidad and Tobago to explore three offshore hydrocarbon blocks – 25a, 25b and 27.
