Shell green lights production at Aphrodite gas field

SHELL Trinidad and Tobago Ltd, a subsidiary of Shell plc, has taken a final investment decision to begin production on the Aphrodite project, an undeveloped gas field in the East Coast Marine Area (ECMA).

In a statement, Shell said Aphrodite will allow the company to incrementally expand its integrated gas business by building on existing developments in the ECMA, one of the country’s most prolific gas-producing areas.

"The ECMA is currently home to Shell’s largest gas-producing fields in the country including Dolphin, Starfish, Bounty and Endeavour."

Shell said once Aphrodite is online, it will serve as a back fill for Atlantic LNG (ALNG) plant in Point Fortin.

"The increased production will help to maximize the potential utilisation of Shell’s existing assets."

Shell TT country chair and senior vice-president Adam Lowmass said, "This investment is testament to our commitment to help secure the energy future of TT on several fronts.”

He added by increasing the gas supply to ALNG, Aphrodite will not only serve to fortify the domestic gas market but will also boost the local petrochemical and power-generation industries.

Development of the Aphrodite field remains subject to receipt of all applicable regulatory approvals.

Once approved, Aphrodite is expected to start production in 2027 with an estimated peak production of approximately 18,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) (107 MMscf/d).

The field was discovered in 2022.

Shell said, "Once all applicable regulatory approvals are received, Shell will be the operator of Aphrodite with a 100 per cent working interest under the Block 5a Production Sharing Contract & Block E Production Sharing Contract."

The project, Shell continued, will involve a new single sub-sea tieback to existing infrastructure in the Barracuda subsea network.

"Gas will be routed via Shell’s Dolphin A platform to domestic and foreign markets."

Shell said gas from Aphrodite will service the domestic market via the National Gas Company (NGC) while the export LNG market will be serviced through the Shell-operated onshore Beachfield gas processing facility.

Aphrodite, Shell continued, will help it to deliver on its ambition too solidify its leading position in LNG by growing sales by 4-5 per cent per year through to 2030.

The company added information contained in its LNG Outlook 2025 provides a basis for further optimism on Aphrodite's promise with Asian economic growth expected to drive a 60 per cent rise in LNG demand to 2040.

Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal and his predecessor Stuart Young congratulated Shell on this development.

In a statement, Moonilal said, "We are pleased that Shell has progressed the Aphrodite project to FID. We are also pleased with the stated timeline of the project which aims to realise "first gas" by 2027 at a rate of approximately 107 million cubic feet per day."

He added, "This new natural gas development project is important as it helps counter declining production from the maturing reservoirs in the Shell operated ECMA. The ministry, in its role as regulator, will work with Shell to ensure the safe and timely completion of this project."

In a post on Facebook, Young said, "Looking forward to production. This is another project that we negotiated to ensure stable gas supply. Took some work but we got it done."

Young was energy minister from April 19, 2021- April 30, 2025.

Shell's announcement on Aphrodite comes after bpTT's announcement on the first gas production from its Mento project on May 29.

In a statement, bpTT said production from Mento will make a significant contribution towards the 250,000 boe/d combined peak net production expected from ten major projects. These projects, which bpTT announced earlier this year as part of its strategy to grow the upstream, are expected to start up worldwide between 2025 and 2027.

Company president David Campbell, "This represents our second start up this year and it is tangible proof of the benefits of partnering with others to bring much needed gas into production. The bpTT/EOG partnership is progressing well as we continue to work on our next joint venture project Coconut.”

Both companies are currently working on the Coconut gas development under a similar joint venture arrangement with start-up is expected in 2027.

Moonilal and Young also congratulated bpTT on the Mento project.