PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Trinidad and Tobago government is predicting an increase in the average natural gas output for this year confirming an increased output in July and August, after the output plunged in June.
In a statement, the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (MEEI) said it has taken note of recent reports regarding natural gas production and is advising that natural gas production for the month of June 2024 was impacted by the conduct of maintenance activities by three of the major upstream gas producers resulting in a 22 per cent reduction in production when compared to the previous month.
It said this decrease in natural gas production was transparently reflected in the Consolidated Natural Gas Monthly Bulletins for the period January-June 2024.
“This maintenance activities, undertaken by major energy players bpTT, Woodside and Shell were planned a year in advance and are an essential component of compliance with government regulations.
“Among these activities were turnarounds which are proactive measures to ensure the safety of all personnel on the respective facilities as well as the optimization of processes aimed towards improving production and overall efficiency,” the statement said.
The ministry said that the decrease in natural gas production was sheltered within the natural gas value chain by planned turnarounds at Train IV at Atlantic LNG, Point Lisas Nitrogen Limited and the Urea plant at Nutrien Ltd for the month of June 2024.
The MEEI further advised that with the completion of these said activities, preliminary data shows that natural gas production for the month of July 2024 increased to 2.3 BCF/D and further increased to 2.7 BCF/D in August with production for Q4 2024 projected to average at 2.5 BCF/D.
