He cited a record at bp’s Juniper platform and a TT$2.2 billion half-year profit at NGC. National gas output has been broadly flat.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Energy Minister Roodal Moonilal told Parliament on Friday that the energy sector is “on track” to help turn around the economy, citing progress on major offshore gas projects, a production record at bp’s Juniper platform and strong results at the National Gas Company (NGC).
On Shell’s Manatee project, Moonilal said the topside and jacket were loaded out and installed in 2026, with peak production expected at about 600 million standard cubic feet per day, rising to about 900 million when combined with Loran. He said the Government is working with Shell on agreements for the Loran project, which targets 1.7 trillion cubic feet of gas for use in Trinidad and Tobago. The ministry is also progressing an extraterritorial measurement agreement with Venezuela, and he said officials expect to engage the Venezuelan authorities very soon, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
On EOG Resources’ Coconut project, the second major offshore jacket was loaded out locally in October. Moonilal said the NGC completed negotiations for 100% of EOG’s share of the gas, with first gas expected in 2027 and peak production of about 300 million cubic feet a day. On the Dragon project, being executed by Shell and the NGC, he said the NGC has contributed its equity share, with first gas expected in 2028 at a peak of 415 million cubic feet a day from 1.2 trillion cubic feet of reserves.
Moonilal said bp announced that Juniper reached a record daily rate of 700 million cubic feet in October, the highest since it began operating in 2017. bp confirmed the record, and the Express noted that national gas production has been broadly flat in recent years, averaging about 2,397 million cubic feet per day in the first half of 2026. The minister credited incentives agreed by the People’s Partnership administration in 2010-2015 for the investment that made Juniper possible.
He also cited the return of ExxonMobil to Trinidad’s deepwater, including ultra-deep block TTUD1, and said Touchstone Exploration has completed two drilling locations in its WD-4 block and mobilized a rig for a two-well program. He said the Prime Minister recently handed a mining license and processing license to Studley Park Enterprises Limited in Tobago.
Moonilal said the NGC announced a first-half 2026 profit of TT$2.2 billion, up 174% from the same period in 2024. He said exports of crude oil and petroleum products to the United States in the second quarter were the highest since the third quarter of 2021. He said the NGC is in advanced talks with Shell and XRG for a share of a 6 trillion cubic foot gas resource to supply domestic petrochemical and LNG obligations. The figures are the minister’s, and Aurax News has not independently verified them.