BP Sells Stake in Manakin Gas Field to Trinidad's NGC

BP has agreed to sell a 20% stake in the Manakin portion of the Cocuina-Manakin natural gas field to Trinidad and Tobago's state-owned National Gas Company (NGC). This move will strengthen NGC's participation in gas resources located on the Trinidad side of the maritime boundary.

The Cocuina-Manakin field contains approximately 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, with about 66% located on the Trinidad side. NGC already owns a 20% interest in the Cocuina portion on the Venezuelan side and sought participation on the Trinidad side to maintain balance across the cross-border gas field.

As part of the agreement, BP and NGC will market 70% of the project's gas to Atlantic LNG, which operates Latin America's largest liquefied natural gas export facility. This could provide additional feedstock for Trinidad's LNG infrastructure at a time when domestic natural gas supplies have faced constraints.

The transaction may strengthen coordination between BP and NGC across Trinidad's natural gas value chain, from upstream production to LNG marketing. It also supports efforts to improve gas availability for Atlantic LNG and potentially increase utilization of existing export infrastructure.