Shell has awarded a sizable subsea installation contract to Subsea 7 to support the development of the Aphrodite gas field offshore Trinidad and Tobago, the subsea engineering contractor said on Monday.
The project, located in Block 5a within the East Coast Marine Area, involves the transportation and installation of subsea infrastructure in water depths of up to 290 meters. Subsea 7 said project management and engineering activities will commence immediately at its Houston, Texas office, with offshore operations scheduled for 2027.
While the exact contract value was not disclosed, Subsea 7 categorized it as “sizeable,” a term it uses for awards ranging between US$50 million and US$150 million.
Shell confirmed a final investment decision (FID) for the Aphrodite development earlier this month. The field is expected to produce up to 18,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day at peak, with first gas targeted for 2027.
Aphrodite is intended to provide critical backfill supply to Shell’s Atlantic LNG operations, which have been operating below capacity in recent years amid declining upstream production, Reuters reported Shell as saying. The development is part of a broader push by Trinidad and Tobago to boost natural gas output and sustain liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, which are a major source of foreign exchange.
In addition to Aphrodite, Shell’s Manatee project is also expected to achieve first gas in 2027.
