Page 4 - LatAmOil Week 38 2022

LatAmOil COMMENTARY LatAmOil

Atlantic LNG’s total production capacity comes to 14.8mn tpy (Image: Atlantic LNG)
T&T facing hurdles despite

high European gas prices

Port of Spain’s ability to benefit from current market conditions is constrained

by questions about gas supply, production decline and the fate of Atlantic LNG

AS an established producer of natural gas and and immediate sense, the challenges include
LNG, Trinidad and Tobago ought to be in a posi- questions about the future of Atlantic LNG, the
WHAT: tion to take advantage of recent developments operator of the country’s only gas liquefaction
Europe’s gas market cri- on European gas markets, which are in turmoil facility.
sis is hitting as Trinidad as the heating season approaches. Given its singular nature, Atlantic LNG is the
and Tobago attempts to That is, it ought to be able to arrange matters only thing keeping Trinidad and Tobago in its
navigate questions about so as to promote itself to European buyers as a spot as the world’s sixth-largest supplier of LNG
future supplies. reliable supplier of LNG – and, therefore, as an to Europe. It is also the only thing that has ena-
ally and good business contact at a time when bled the country to increase the share of total
WHY: concerns about supplies and pricing are acute. LNG exports going to European buyers from
Atlantic LNG, the Instead, however, Europe’s gas supply woes have 26% in 2021 to 40% in the first half of 2022.
country’s only gas erupted at a time when Trinidad and Tobago is The Atlantic LNG plant has four production
liquefaction plant, is facing challenges of its own that constrain its trains and a combined total production capac-
heading for shareholder ability to benefit from rising gas demand and ity of 14.8mn tonnes per year (tpy). Each of the
reorganisation.
prices. trains is owned by a separate group of sharehold-
WHAT NEXT: In a general sense, those challenges encom- ers and sources feedstock from a different set of
Proposals for accessing pass the fact that the country’s gas output has gas fields. Shell (UK) is a key shareholder in the
gas from neighbouring been dropping for some time and is likely to plant, as it has a 46% stake in Atlantic LNG’s
Venezuela will not offer a continue doing so over the long term, as there Train 1, a 57.5% stake in Train 2, a 57.5% stake
quick fix. have not been enough new discoveries to in Train 3 and a 51.11% stake in Train 4. (Train
replace depleted fields. And in a more specific 1 is currently idle.)

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