BP sells 20% stake in Manakin Gas Field to Trinidad's NGC

BP announced on Monday that it had agreed to sell a 20 percent stake to the state-owned National Gas Company of Trinidad in a block containing the Trinidad portion the Cocuina Manakin natural 'gas field.

BP reported that the NGC and BP signed the agreement on Monday.

The Cocuina and Manakin fields, which contain 1 trillion cubic feet in natural gas reserves, lie on the border between Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela and Trinidad, with the Cocuina portion forming part Venezuela's undeveloped Deltana Platform project.

NGC holds a 20 % stake in the Cocuina section on the Venezuelan part. The agreement was reached less than four month after Venezuela gave BP a licence to develop the Cocuina field.

Sources claim that BP and NGC agreed to sell 70% of the project gas to Atlantic LNG. This company operates Latin America's biggest liquefied natural -gas export facility. In recent years, the complex has been struggling due to a decline in domestic natural gas supply?in Trinidad. This has constrained production and forced one of its four trains to close. BP holds 45% of Atlantic LNG while NGC owns 10%, and Shell the remaining 45%. Venezuela's oil minister and NGC didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

The development at Cocuina Manakin is moving towards a final decision on investment, which two sources who are 'in the know' said they expected by the end of the year. The remaining 30% will be used for petrochemicals. Curtis Williams reported from Houston, Deisy buitrago contributed additional reporting in Caracas and Nathan Crooks edited the story.

(source: Reuters)