Shell Halts Aphrodite Gas Project Amid Disputes with NGC

Shell has put its Aphrodite gas project in Trinidad and Tobago on hold due to disagreements over commercial terms with the National Gas Company (NGC).

The British oil major had given the project a positive final investment decision last year, but negotiations with NGC for the sale of the project's expected output of around 100 million cubic feet per day of natural gas have failed.

As part of its decision, Shell has released a jack-up rig it had contracted to drill the production wells for the project.

The Aphrodite project would have provided a modest but welcome boost to Trinidad's gas supplies, which are crucial for the country's LNG exports and petrochemical production.

Trinidad is currently facing declining natural gas output, which has curtailed its LNG exports and petrochemical production. However, the country expects to soon have access to gas from neighboring Venezuela as Shell and BP advance plans to produce there.