Matapal is developed as a three-well subsea tieback to the existing Juniper platform, to reduce development costs and the associated carbon footprint

matapal-field-layout.jpg.img.768.medium

Matapal is a three-well subsea tieback to the Juniper platform. (Credit: bp p.l.c.)

British oil and gas company BP, through its bp Trinidad and Tobago (bpTT) unit, has achieved first gas from the Matapal subsea gas development offshore Trinidad.

The company claims to have produced the first gas seven months ahead of schedule and under budget.

The Trinidad market is expected to receive 250-350 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas from the Matapal project, initially.

Matapal will deliver the gas from resources discovered by the Savannah exploration well drilled in 2017.

It is the second subsea development for bpTT.

bpTT president Claire Fitzpatrick said: “Natural gas will play an important role in the energy transition and to the economy of Trinidad and Tobago for decades to come.

“This is why our team at bpTT has worked diligently to safely start up our Matapal project, which we successfully achieved both under budget and ahead of schedule.

“We are committed to a strong energy future in Trinidad and Tobago and this project plays a critical role in delivering that.”

Located 80km off Trinidad’s south-east coast and in a water depth of 163 metres, Matapal is developed as a three-well subsea tieback to the existing Juniper platform, to reduce development costs and the associated carbon footprint.

Gas produced from the project is expected to be pooled with production from other BP fields for supply as feedstock for ammonia, methanol and LNG plants, as well as for power generation in the country.

Currently, bpTT has 15 offshore production platforms, contributing to about half of the nation’s gas production.

In July this year, BP and its partners have announced the start of production from the East South flank of the $28bn Shah Deniz 2 project, offshore Azerbaijan.

With the East South flank coming online, the company expected that Shah Deniz 2 project would increase its overall production to more than 2.4 billion standard cubic feet per day across the assets.