(Trinidad Express) Shell T&T Ltd, a subsidiary of Shell plc, announced on Tuesday that it has taken final investment decision (FID) on the Manatee project, an undeveloped gas field in the East Coast Marine Area (ECMA).
In a news release, Shell explained Manatee will allow Shell to competitively grow its integrated gas business by building on development efforts in the ECMA, one of the country’s most prolific gas-producing areas.
The ECMA is currently home to Shell’s largest gas-producing fields in the country including Dolphin, Starfish, Bounty and Endeavour. The multinational energy company noted the Manatee gas field will provide backfill for the country’s Atlantic LNG facility, stating that increasing utilisation at existing LNG plants is an important lever to maximise potential from Shell’s existing assets.
“This project will help meet the increasing demand for natural gas globally while also addressing the energy needs of our customers domestically in T&T. The investment bolsters our world-leading LNG portfolio in line with our commitment to invest in competitive projects that deliver more value with less emissions,” Zoë Yujnovich, Shell’s integrated gas and upstream director further explained.
Shell plans to grow its LNG business by 20-30 per cent by 2030, compared with 2022, and LNG liquefaction volumes are planned to grow by 25 to 30 per cent, relative to 2022, as outlined at Shell’s capital markets day in 2023.
Manatee is slated to start production in 2027, while drilling is expected to commence in 2026.
Once online, Manatee is expected to reach peak production of approximately 104,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) (604 MMscf/d).
Asked by Guardian Media what happens next, Shell said, “The Manatee project will involve a Normally Unattended Installation platform in the ECMA acreage with eight developmental wells via a 110 kilometre pipeline to the Shell-operated onshore Beachfield gas processing facility.”
Questioned on the size of the investment involved in developing the Manatee project, Shell said, “We do not share the costs of specific projects as these details are commercially confidential.”
The company also declined to comment on the updated estimate of the resources in the Manatee field.
In a news release on the issue, Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Stuart Young, said Shell’s FID is the result of significant work by the Government and its constant engagement with the energy company and its leadership at the highest levels in Holland, England and T&T.
“This development will be the most significant hydrocarbon development in Trinidad and Tobago for the past couple decades and would not have happened were it not for the vision and leadership of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.”
The Manatee field straddles the maritime border between Trinidad and Venezuela. On the Venezuelan side of the border, the field is named Loran.
The current administration delinked Manatee field from Loran in 2019, which allowed for the development of the resources on the Trinidad side. The Ministry of Energy then negotiated and executed a production sharing contract with Shell for the development of the Manatee field in November 2021.
The Energy Chamber of T&T also welcomed the news that the FID has been taken by Shell for the development of the Manatee field.
In a statement yesterday, it said this is a very significant development for the country and will help create stability for the country’s gas industry and, by extension, T&T’s energy services companies.
“This is a major development, projected to deliver significant volumes of natural gas, equivalent to around 20 per cent of current national gas production. This project has had a long and complicated history, not least because it is part of a field that straddles the maritime boundary with Venezuela,” the chamber said.
It added that delivering this project involved significant, complex negotiations by the Government, Shell, the government of Venezuela and numerous other stakeholders.
