BP Trinidad and Tobago (BPTT), a subsidiary of BP Plc, has signed a production-sharing agreement with the Trinidadian government for the development of the large Cypre subsea gas field. The company aims to start gas production from the site in 2025, according to Zacks.
The Cypre project marks BPTT’s third subsea development in the region and is expected to significantly boost Trinidad and Tobago’s natural gas output.
Trinidad and Tobago’s natural gas production has been on the decline in recent years, making the Cypre development crucial for the country’s energy sector. In the first half of 2024, average daily gas production stood at 2.48 billion cubic feet, a decrease from 2.64 billion cubic feet in 2023. Former Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine noted that while projects like Cypre and EOG’s Mento field could help offset production losses, they may not be enough to reverse the overall decline in production.
Trinidad’s annual natural gas output has been steadily falling. In 2012, the country produced 1.479 trillion cubic feet (tcf), but by 2022, this had dropped to just 0.988 tcf. The decline is primarily due to diminishing gas reserves in older fields, compounded by disappointing discoveries in neighboring countries and unattractive fiscal terms. However, Trinidad’s challenges are shared by other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAM).
Among LAM nations, only Trinidad and Peru currently export liquefied natural gas (LNG). Peru has fared relatively well, especially compared to its neighbors. The country’s LNG exports surged during the global energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, Peru LNG, the consortium managing the country’s exports, increased its LNG shipments by 70%, with deliveries to Europe rising by an extraordinary 46 times.
To support this growth, the Peruvian government chose not to renegotiate the consortium’s Camisea contracts, aiming to encourage the group to operate at full capacity of 4.4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). However, Peru’s ability to expand LNG exports is limited, as the government is focused on meeting local energy demand.
Meanwhile, Brazil continues to be one of the largest LNG importers in the region, despite having more regasification capacity than any other Latin American nation. Brazil ranks as the sixth-largest importer of U.S. LNG worldwide.
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