Moonilal calls on Shell for more Manatee gas

Statement by Dr Roodal Moonilal
Minister of Energy and Energy Industries
Saturday June 7, 2025  

“I am very pleased with the progress Shell is making with the Manatee project. The most recent development is the arrival in the country of the MV Vox Amalia Hopper Dredger which will conduct trenching operations for a component of the Manatee pipeline. Related works are also ongoing to prepare infrastructure in Guayaguayare. Manatee is a project which has been in the making for several years spanning multiple administrations.   

In 2003 a Memorandum of Understanding (2003 MOU) concerning the procedure for the unitization of cross-border hydrocarbon reservoirs was successfully negotiated and executed by Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. 

In 2007 a Framework Treaty on Unitization of Hydrocarbon Reservoirs that extend across the delimitation line was signed and served as a template for the Unitization Treaties for individual reservoirs. 

In August 2010 and in February 2015, the Partnership Government led by Mrs. Kamla Persad Bissessar signed field specific treaties for Loran-Manatee and Manakin-Cocuina cross border fields respectively. These two agreements meant that there was agreement, after technical study, as to the apportionment between both countries of the Original Gas in Place (OGIP). This was an important step towards the development of the Manatee project. 

With this understanding, the Manatee field was de-unitized from the larger cross border Loran Manatee field and development was made possible under the production sharing contract covering this field between the MEEI and Shell. 

The Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries is very focused on working with Shell to ensure the safe delivery of the Manatee project and first gas by 2027. This is an important step to right siding the shortage of natural gas that we inherited in April 2025 and which has negatively impacted industrial output, government revenue and foreign exchange earnings. Given the gas crisis we inherited, in the coming months we will be working with Shell to see if there are opportunities to increase the volumes of gas Manatee can bring to the Trinidad and Tobago economy.”