BP sells 20% stake in Manakin gas field to Trinidad's NGC

BP has agreed to sell a 20% stake in the Trinidad portion of the Cocuina-Manakin natural gas field to the state-owned National Gas Company (NGC) of Trinidad and Tobago. The cross-border field, which contains an estimated 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, straddles the maritime boundary between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.

Under the agreement, BP and NGC intend to sell 70% of the gas produced by the project to Atlantic LNG, Latin America’s largest liquefied natural gas export facility. The remaining 30% of the gas is slated for use in petrochemicals. This deal follows Venezuela granting BP a license to develop the field less than four months ago.

The development is moving toward a final investment decision, which sources expect to occur by the end of the year. The project aims to bolster supply for Atlantic LNG, which has recently faced output constraints and the closure of one of its four production trains due to declining domestic gas supplies in Trinidad.