Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member country, Trinidad and Tobago is reportedly slipping behind the South American nation of Peru in the production of Liquefied Natural Gas according to a Reuters report issued earlier this year.
The May report says that Trinidad and Tobago and Peru, the hemisphere’s only two LNG exporters are energetically seeking to take advantage of what the report described as “a global energy shift” triggered by the move in Europe to reduce its dependence on Russian gas in the wake of that country’s hostilities in Ukraine.
The report sums up the production ‘rivalry’ by asserting that LNG production in the two countries was moving “in opposite directions”. LNG shipments in Peru “are ramping up fast with special emphasis on Europe, where, the Reuters report says, “ a combination of firm demand and high prices has been luring exporters this year.” By contrast, Trinidad and Tobago, the report says has not been able to reverse an export fall which Reuters says is “expected to continue for a third consecutive year in 2022” with the country being less than successful in bringing additional volumes of gas output on line.
Abrupt sanctions-driven cuts in Europe’s LNG imports from Russia earlier this year on account of the conflict in Ukraine have given rise to a dramatic search for options paving the way for Peru’s state-run company, Perupetro to position itself to take advantage of the unforeseen opportunity. According to the report the US is expected to become the world’s largest LNG exporter this year.
An Energy Northern Perspective report last September projects that Trinidad and Tobago is expected to dominate natural gas production from upcoming projects in the Americas in 2025, the expectation being that the twin-island Republic will contribute around 25% or 820 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of the overall Americas natural gas production in 2025, based on planned and announced projects, according to Global Data, a data and analytics company.
Global Data’s report, Americas Oil and Gas Upstream Development Outlook to 2025, reveals that “514 mmcfd of natural gas production in Trinidad and Tobago in 2025 is expected from planned projects with identified development plans, while 306 mmcfd is expected from early-stage announced projects that are undergoing conceptual studies and are expected to be granted approval for development.”
The report says that a total of seven natural gas projects are expected to start operations in Trinidad and Tobago during 2021-2025.
While the near term prospects for the country’s natural gas industry are “positive,” the longer-term projection is for a production decline beyond 2024.
“Global Data identifies the US as the second highest country in the Americas with 608 mmcfd of natural gas production in 2025 or around 18% of the total Americas natural gas production in the year (excluding the US L48). Brazil follows with natural gas production of 538 mmcfd from planned and announced projects in 2025,” the Reuters report says
Among oil and gas companies, BP, China National Petroleum, and Petroleo Brasileiro SA lead with the highest natural gas production of 421 mmcfd, 412 mmcfd and 387 mmcfd respectively, in 2025 from planned and announced projects.
