The southern Caribbean has gathered significant interest from the international energy industry over the past decade, driven in particular by the unprecedented exploration success and ramp up of production in Guyana. In 2024, Guyana overtook Trinidad & Tobago in terms of hydrocarbon production on a barrels of oil equivalence basis.
The majority of Trinidad & Tobago’s production is natural gas, while Guyana’s production has been all crude oil. Meanwhile, Suriname has maintained a small volume of oil production from onshore, while it has had success mirroring Guyana’s in terms of exploration success offshore (though no production offshore yet).
Trinidad and Tobago has been commercially producing crude oil since 1908. Over time the country also started monetizing its natural gas resources, which led to the creation of world-class ammonia, methanol and LNG facilities. For a long time, T&T was the primary hydrocarbon producer in the Caribbean.
Guyana’s crude oil production has skyrocketed since production began in 2019. The Liza discovery was made by Exxon in 2015 and since then has made over 30 discoveries in the Stabroek block. These discoveries have led to six offshore developments and Guyana is poised to produce over one million barrels of oil per day in the coming years as more projects come online.
Suriname currently produces less than 15,000 barrels per day but has had successful discoveries offshore. In late 2024, TotalEnergies took a final investment decision on the massive GranMorgu project in Block 58. Suriname hopes to replicate the experience of neighbouring Guyana.
While centre of gravity of Caribbean hydrocarbon production has shifted southeast to Guyana and Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago still attracts significant interest and capital. T&T’s the well-developed gas industry offers an attractive and fast route to monetize any gas finds that can be linked into its extensive infrastructure.
The three southern Caribbean hydrocarbon producers are all part of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). This means that, in theory, people, goods, services and capital should be able to move freely between the three countries as if they were one single market. In reality, there are still barriers that need to be removed. If barriers were removed, it would be easier to retain the critical services, equipment and labour needed to execute complex energy projects within the region, relying less on resources from outside of the region. This would help reduce the costs of project execution and improve efficiency. This is an objective that the Energy Chamber remains committed to achieving.