BP Trinidad & Tobago’s (BPTT) natural gas production in Trinidad and Tobago has fallen by almost 20% during 2015, leading to significant gas curtailments in the Caribbean twin-island nation while impacting LNG, methanol, and ammonia production.
According to statistics from Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (MEEI), BPTT’s gas production fell to 1.76 bcfd from 2.181 bcfd between January and October.
BPTT did not say what caused the production drop, although in a single-paragraph response to OGJ, it did explain: “In line with regular business activity, there are, from time to time, normal operating activities that may have short-term impact on production such as infrastructural work, rig moves, heavy lifts, or delays on the drilling program. We strive, as far as possible, to work with all stakeholders including the government, and downstream, to coordinate these activities to mitigate impact on their operations.”
Parent firm BP PLC’s operations in Trinidad and Tobago account for about 20% of its global production.
The shortfall has meant a 15% curtailment in methanol and ammonia production coming out of Trinidad and Tobago—the world’s largest methanol exporter and the largest exporter of ammonia to the US.
The decline also has hurt Atlantic LNG, and when combined with a 30% decline in gas production from BG Trinidad & Tobago (BGTT) (falling to 674 MMcfd from 975 MMcfd), Trinidad and Tobago gas production has now reached 3.474 bcfd from 4.117 bcfd.
MEEI data show that the nation’s two other major gas producers, EOG Resources Inc. and BHP Billiton Ltd., actually increased production during the same period, but their increases not substantial enough to offset declines from BPTT and BGTT.
