In bucket C, project economics, Shell has shelved the Aphrodite offshore gas project in Trinidad and Tobago after talks with the National Gas Company failed to produce commercial terms. Shell approved the project last year, with expected output of about 100 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
Shell confirmed that it released the initial drilling rig slot for Aphrodite while negotiations continue. The company said it will keep evaluating the integrated project schedule, while the National Gas Company did not respond to Reuters for comment.
The National Gas Company buys gas from producers and supplies local petrochemical plants and Atlantic LNG, where Shell owns 45 percent. Trinidad and Tobago is Latin America’s largest LNG exporter, but declining domestic gas production has reduced LNG exports and petrochemical output.
Aphrodite would have added a modest volume to the island’s gas supply, but industry participants have increasingly cited gas pricing and other commercial problems behind recent petrochemical plant closures. Trinidad and Tobago is also looking to planned supplies from Venezuelan fields being advanced by Shell and BP to support Atlantic LNG and the wider energy sector over the coming decade.