Shell has put its Aphrodite offshore natural gas project in Trinidad and Tobago on hold after failing to reach agreement on commercial terms with the country’s National Gas Company (NGC), according to a recent Reuters report.

The decision follows a positive final investment decision taken in 2025. The Aphrodite field, located in the East Coast Marine Area (Blocks 5a and E), was discovered in 2022.

Shell holds a 100% working interest and planned a subsea tieback to existing infrastructure, with first gas targeted for 2027 and peak production of approximately 18,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day (about 107 million standard cubic feet per day). The gas was intended to support both the domestic market via NGC and Atlantic LNG, where Shell holds a 45% stake.

Negotiations with NGC, Trinidad and Tobago’s gas aggregator, broke down over the sale of the project’s expected output of around 100 million cubic feet per day. As a result, Shell has released the jackup rig previously contracted to drill the production wells.

“Shell is in ongoing negotiations and confirms that the initial rig slot for Aphrodite has been released,” the company said in a statement, as quoted in the Reuters report. “The company will continue to evaluate the overall integrated project schedule.”

NGC Chairman Gerald Ramdeen has indicated that talks with Shell remain ongoing. The pause represents a setback for Trinidad and Tobago’s efforts to reverse years of declining natural gas production that have constrained LNG exports and petrochemical output. Trinidad remains the largest LNG exporter in Latin America.

Development of Aphrodite remains subject to regulatory approvals and successful resolution of commercial discussions.

Maturing fields and declining production

Trinidad and Tobago’s energy sector has faced persistent challenges from maturing fields and declining production. Natural gas output, which peaked near 4.3 billion cubic feet per day around 2010, has fallen to roughly 2.5 billion cubic feet per day in recent years. Oil production has also dropped sharply from historical highs.

These declines have reduced feedstock for the Point Lisas petrochemical complex (leading to curtailments and idle capacity at ammonia and methanol plants) and for Atlantic LNG, Latin America’s largest LNG facility. Atlantic LNG has operated well below capacity for years; Train 1 was mothballed due to gas shortages and later permanently closed, while remaining trains have faced underutilization and maintenance-related outages.

In response, the government and operators have pursued a mix of near-term domestic projects and cross-border opportunities with Venezuela. Positive developments in 2025 included first gas from bpTT’s Cypre project and the BP/EOG Mento joint venture.

A cluster of projects targeting 2027—including BP’s Ginger, the BP/EOG Coconut development, and Shell’s larger Manatee field (with associated cross-border potential on the Venezuelan Loran side)—has raised hopes of a production rebound. Shell has advanced Manatee infrastructure, including pipeline capacity upgrades, while Venezuela has granted licenses for several cross-border schemes viewed as critical for longer-term supply to Atlantic LNG and domestic industry.

Deepwater exploration and other initiatives continue, though commercial, fiscal, and geopolitical factors (including past US sanctions affecting Venezuelan gas) have complicated timelines.

Overall, the sector is in a transitional phase: short-term supply constraints persist, but a pipeline of sanctioned and planned projects offers the strongest upstream outlook in years—provided commercial agreements and project execution hold.