Trinidad scrambles to prevent gas nosedive

The country’s production has been freefalling for years, but expected startups will not be enough to avert further long-term losses

Caribbean gas giant Trinidad and Tobago finds itself in a quandary. The past year has seen both its gas production and LNG exports slide, and even the startup of several large IOC-led projects over the next few years will not sustain output for long. Natural decline from many of the country’s maturing fields will quickly offset the gains. Highlighting the perilous situation, Trinidad’s gas production slumped by 19.7pc year on year in Q1. It was down even further between April and May, at 23pc. And the closure in late 2020 of Train 1 at the country’s liquefaction project, operated by Trinidadian LNG exporter Atlantic, triggered a 35.3