Trinidad's LNG production rises 28%, boosted by European demand

(Reuters) - Trinidad and Tobago increased production of liquefied natural gas from the Atlantic LNG project by 28% in the latest quarter compared with the previous quarter, figures from the Energy ministry seen by Reuters on Monday showed.

Atlantic LNG, the largest producer of LNG in Latin America and the Caribbean and a venture including Shell, BP and the government, was forced to shut production at one of its trains in late 2020 due to insufficient gas production.

But the remaining three trains, with a joint processing capacity of 1.6 B cubic feet per day (bcfd) of gas, are increasing output to meet demand as customers, especially in Europe, try to secure inventories ahead of the winter.

During the June-August period, Atlantic LNG processed an average of 1.32 Bcfd of natural gas, up from 1.04 Bcfd in the March-May period, the figures showed.

The project's gas utilization also rose by 28% on account of higher supply, mainly from Shell, which is also Atlantic's largest shareholder

Cargoes from Trinidad, the world's 10th largest exporter of LNG, bound to Europe rose by 45% in the quarter, compared with the same period of 2021.

"Year to date, 40% of the LNG delivered to our train 2 and 3 LNG offtakers was shipped to Europe. This represents roughly a 45% increase in volumes delivered to Europe over the same period last year," the company told Reuters.

(Reporting by Curtis Williams; Writing by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

• Most Read
• Most Commented