BHP to Drill More Wells in Trinidad

Thursday, March 14, 2019
© Argus / Adobe Stock

BHP Group Ltd has stepped up exploration drilling in deep water off Trinidad and Tobago hunting for gas which could supply the country's Atlantic LNG (liquefied natural gas) plant in the 2020s, a senior executive said.

The company expects to complete drilling of three wells in block 14, located in its northern contract area, by the middle of this year, Niall McCormack, BHP's vice president for exploration, said on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.

"It's an attractive opportunity so we're looking to de-risk it a bit more, so we've got a bit more drilling to do," he said.

The company struck gas at the Bongos-2 well in the north last year. BHP is the operator of the block with a 70 percent stake while BP Plc holds the remainder.

BHP has also found natural gas in two of three wells it drilled in its southern contract area last year. The company operates the southern area with a 65 percent stake and Royal Dutch Shell Plc has a 35 percent stake.

"Overall, it's an area where gas is attractive because it's advantaged by the infrastructure of Atlantic LNG," McCormack said.

The gas could be produced in the middle of next decade when there would be demand from Atlantic LNG, he said.

Trinidad's Atlantic LNG, owned by BP, Shell, China's sovereign wealth fund CIC and Trinidad's state-owned company NGC, operates four LNG units with a total capacity of 15 million metric tons per year.

However the plant has been running below capacity for several years, due to depleting supply from mature gas fields off Trinidad, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a report last September.


(Reporting by Florence Tan Additional reporting by Sonali Paul in MELBOURNE; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Categories: LNG Offshore Energy Deepwater Drilling Activity South America Natural Gas Exploration

Related Stories

DOF Secures Moorings Hook-Up Job in Asia Pacific

DOF Secures Moorings Hook-Up Job in Asia Pacific

Synergy Marine Group Completes Conversion of LNG Vessel to FSRU

Synergy Marine Group Completes Conversion of LNG Vessel to FSRU

Japan Picks Wood Mackenzie to Assess Trump-Backed Alaska LNG Scheme

Japan Picks Wood Mackenzie to Assess Trump-Backed Alaska LNG Scheme

Marco Polo Picks Salt Ship Design for Next-Gen Offshore Energy CSOV

Marco Polo Picks Salt Ship Design for Next-Gen Offshore Energy CSOV

Keppel, Seatrium in $53M Arbitration Case Over Brazil Corruption Scheme

Keppel, Seatrium in $53M Arbitration Case Over Brazil Corruption Scheme

Norwegian Oil Investment Will Peak in '25

Norwegian Oil Investment Will Peak in '25

Saipem Wins FEED Contract For Abadi LNG Project FPSO Module In Indonesia

Saipem Wins FEED Contract For Abadi LNG Project FPSO Module In Indonesia

Shelf Drilling Lands New Jack-Up Contract in Vietnam, Extends Egypt Deal

Seatrium Engages Axess Group to Clear FPSOs for Brazil Deployment

ADNOC Signs Long-Term LNG Deal with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation

Current News

Yinson Production Nets DNV Approval for New FPSO Hull Design

Hanwha Ocean's Tidal Action Drillship Starts Maiden Job with Petrobras

Petronas to Leverage AI to Expedite Oil and Gas Exploration Activities

Brownfield Output Decline Accelerates, says IEA

PV Drilling Takes Ownership of Noble Corporation’s Stacked Jack-Up Rig

Hanwha Ocean Enlists ABB for Singapore’s First Floating LNG Terminal

Aquaterra Energy Nets Subsea Analysis Contracts with INPEX off Indonesia

POSH Set to Tow Nguya FLNG from China to Eni’s Congo Field

Chinese Contractor Secures Offshore Oil and Gas ‘Mega Deal’ from QatarEnergy

DOF Secures Moorings Hook-Up Job in Asia Pacific

photo

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com