Shell Shelves Aphrodite Project Amid Commercial Disputes with NGC

Shell has put its Aphrodite offshore natural gas project in Trinidad and Tobago on hold due to commercial disputes with the country's National Gas Company (NGC). The project, which was discovered in 2022 and had a planned first gas target of 2027, would have seen Shell produce approximately 18,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Negotiations over the sale of the project's output broke down, forcing Shell to release the jackup rig contracted for drilling.

NGC Chairman Gerald Ramdeen confirmed that talks with Shell remain ongoing. The pause in development represents a setback for Trinidad and Tobago's efforts to reverse declining natural gas production, which has constrained LNG exports and petrochemical output.