Shell (SHEL) has decided to put on hold its Aphrodite offshore gas project in Trinidad and Tobago after failing to reach an agreement with Trinidad's National Gas Company over commercial terms, Reuters reported Monday, citing three undisclosed sources familiar with the decision.
The British energy giant, which approved the project's final investment decision last year, has set the project aside for now after negotiations with NGC over the sale of about 100 million cubic feet per day of natural gas failed, the report said.
Shell has released a jack-up rig contracted to drill Aphrodite's production wells, a development confirmed by Shell in a statement to Reuters. Shell said negotiations are ongoing and it will continue to review the project's overall development schedule.
NGC serves as Trinidad's gas aggregator, buying from producers and providing it to downstream users. NGC did not immediately respond to' request for comment.
"Shell is in ongoing negotiations and confirms that the initial rig slot for Aphrodite has been released. We will continue to evaluate the overall integrated project schedule to identify opportunities to maintain the first gas schedule," a Shell spokesperson said in an emailed response to.
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