Exclusive: Exxon in talks with Trinidad for seven deepwater blocks, sources say
The areas Exxon is interested in are located north of the company's prolific Stabroek block in Guyana, the fastest-growing oil production province in the world, the people said.
Exxon and partners Hess and CNOOC (600938.SS), opens new tab have discovered more than 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas in Stabroek and plan to produce more than 900,000 barrels per day of light sweet crude later this year.
Trinidad's Energy Minister Roodal Moonilal did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. Exxon said it does not comment on rumors or speculation.
Exxon left Trinidad and Tobago in 2003 after a failed exploration program.
Under the new government of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Trinidad aims to rejuvenate investment, especially offshore, where more gas output is needed to support the nation's liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petrochemical industries.
Since she took office in April, a flagship offshore gas project with neighboring Venezuela that lost its U.S. authorization to move forward has been shelved, while the government has focused efforts on deepening ties with the region's other energy producers.
According to Trinidad's laws, the government can individually negotiate areas for exploration and production if they are not included in a competitive bidding round.
Trinidad and Tobago is in the middle of a deepwater auction, opens new tab that has been extended to close on September 17, and which does not include the blocks Exxon is negotiating for.
If Exxon and Trinidad reach an agreement, the U.S. producer could acquire almost all the ultra deepwater blocks that remain unlicensed.
The large discoveries of oil and gas made in recent years in the Guyana-Suriname basin are one of the reasons why Trinidad is now seeing a renewed interest in its ongoing deepwater auction, the country's energy minister said at a conference early in July.
Moonilal also said Trinidad was open to bids outside of auctions and hinted at the negotiations.
"We are currently considering one such proposal, and if the negotiations are successful, a major announcement will soon be made," he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Harbour Energy raises lower end of annual production forecast
Aug 7 (Reuters) - North Sea-focused Harbour Energy (HBR.L), opens new tab on Thursday raised the lower end of its annual production guidance range, driven by a growing portfolio, and reported a jump in first-half adjusted pretax profit. Production for 2025 is expected at 460,000-475,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, from 455,000-475,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day expected earlier.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
China's July imports of soybeans, crude oil rise
Aug 7 (Reuters) - China's imports of soybeans and crude oil rose in July from a year earlier, while those of coal and iron ore fell, customs data showed on Thursday. China's exports topped forecasts last month, as manufacturers made the most of a fragile tariff truce between Beijing and Washington to ship goods ahead of a looming deadline later this month. Outbound shipments from the world's second-largest economy rose 7.2% year-on-year in July, customs data showed, beating a forecast 5.4% increase in a Reuters poll and June's 5.8% growth. Imports grew 4.1%, following a 1.1% rise in June. Economists had predicted a 1.0% fall. KEY POINTS: * Soybeans: July imports at 11.67 mmt, up 18.48% y/y * Crude oil: July imports at 47.20 mmt, up 11.48% y/y * Unwrought copper: July imports at 480,000 mt, up 9.59% y/y * Coal: July imports at 35.61 mmt, down 22.94% y/y * Iron ore: July imports at 104.62 mmt, down 1.26% m/m * Rare earths: July exports at 5,994.3 mt, down 22.58% m/m Preliminary table of commodity trade data Below are comments from analysts on the commodities data: WAN CHENGZHI, ANALYST, CAPITAL JINGDU FUTURES, DALIAN CITY: "Brazil's abundant soybean production has provided a strong supply foundation. Due to its bumper harvest, the peak supply period for Brazilian soybeans is expected to be longer than in previous years, remaining at a high level leading up to the fourth quarter." "As for China's purchases of U.S. soybeans in the fourth quarter, no shipments have been confirmed yet, as buyers await the outcome of China-U.S. trade negotiations. Overall, a temporary mismatch between supply and demand for imported soybeans in China's domestic market may occur in the fourth quarter." ROSA WANG, ANALYST, JCI, SHANGHAI: "China's soybean imports remained very high in July, and are expected to stay above 10 million tons in August and September. This suggests the market is preparing for potential uncertainties arising from China-U.S. trade tensions." CAO YING, ANALYST, SDIC FUTURES, BEIJING: "The reason for a monthly fall in iron ore imports is that higher prices in July suppressed some steelmakers' interest in stockpiling iron ore." "A delayed customs clearance for some cargoes because of the hit of Typhoon Wipha to many regions also contributed to a monthly fall in imports and more port congestion." MUYU XU, SENIOR ANALYST, KPLER, SINGAPORE: "China's crude oil imports fell month over month but rose on a year-on-year basis. The month-on-month decline was mainly due to reduced arrivals from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Angola, according to Kpler's data." "Independent refiners bought heavily in June, building up inventories, so their immediate demand in July was lower. "Operating rates are also not particularly high at the moment, which does not support a sharp increase in Iranian oil purchases. Additionally, some independent refiners are facing tight import quota situations, prompting them to manage their buying pace more cautiously." LINKS: For details, see the official Customs website ( BACKGROUND: China is the world's biggest crude oil importer and top buyer of coal, copper, iron ore, and soybeans.
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘It's about justice': the couple pushing for legal aid for Windrush scandal claims
The Home Office's refusal to renew the UK passports of a Black British former servicewoman and her husband had 'devastating' consequences over decades, years after Enoch Powell's NHS recruitment drive brought their mothers to Britain. Hetticia and Vanderbilt McIntosh had their UK status revoked in the 1970s and 1980s, through no fault of their own. The married parents of three were forced to start again in St Lucia, more than 4,000 miles away. The Home Office only gave the couple new British passports in 2020 – after news emerged of the Windrush scandal, which involved the wrongful deportation and denial of rights to Black, Caribbean and African-born Britons living legally in the UK over decades. Despite the significant disruption to their family life, NHS care and pensions, the McIntoshes were each refused compensation from the Windrush compensation scheme three times between 2021 and this year. In 2019, Windrush scandal survivors were told there would be 'no cap' on payments. Instead, the scheme has been plagued by knockbacks, delays and desultory offers. Hetticia was eventually offered £40,000 this year after a legal services firm, the Southwark Law Centre, took on her case. However, Vanderbilt has received a 'nil offer'. Even though the Home Office has admitted its error by giving him his British passport back, officials say he does not qualify for compensation because he entered the country as a 'visitor' in 1993 – the only way he could at the time. In April, the government launched the £1.5m Windrush compensation advocacy support scheme to 'provide claimants with dedicated advocates from community organisations' to support applications. But Hetticia's experience has convinced her that only expert lawyers can tackle the system. She has refused her compensation offer and started a petition for legal aid for Windrush scandal survivors, which has been signed by nearly 20,000 people. She has also been lobbying politicians in the Caribbean to raise awareness. Research this year revealed claimants received huge increases in compensation offers – in one case jumping from £300 to £170,000 – after legal advice. The McIntoshes, who now live in Manchester, first entered the UK as British subjects and small children before obtaining British passports. Hetticia's mother was a Barbadian nurse employed by Manchester Royal Infirmary as part of an early-1960s NHS recruitment drive by the then Conservative health secretary, Enoch Powell, which primarily targeted Caribbean nurses and Indian doctors. Vanderbilt's mother was recruited from St Lucia as a midwife for Newham, east London, in the same period, while his father worked for Ford in Dagenham. Several years later Powell was dismissed from the Tory shadow cabinet after giving his inflammatory 1968 'rivers of blood' speech, which became one of modern British history's most divisive addresses. Hetticia's UK passport expired in 1973 while she was serving as an army physical training instructor, and in 1978 the Home Office said she was not entitled to a new one because her birth country, Barbados, had become independent from Britain. When Vanderbilt's passport expired in 1984, he was told he no longer qualified because of St Lucia's independence. Hetticia was advised to get a Barbadian passport, which UK officials stamped with 'right to abode', but Vanderbilt, whose grandfather was Scottish, was not given any UK immigration status. Suddenly unable to prove he could work legally, he lost his job at Berger Paints, which cost the couple their east London home. Vanderbilt moved the family to St Lucia in 1985, feeling 'rejected and forced out', which, Hetticia said, nearly destroyed their marriage and forced them to travel back and forth for decades. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The couple's frustration at their ordeal is compounded by its inconsistencies – their parents and siblings kept their status, while their own children, as British-born citizens, were able to return to the UK to study and work in the mid-1990s. Hetticia said: 'You feel devastated because one day you don't know who you are any more. We were born British, how is it that was taken away from us? 'The Home Office's behaviour is very insidious and further traumatising us. They pretend they're helping you, but they're not. What they've offered me is an insult. There are [Windrush scandal survivors] who are homeless, suffering from dementia, or paralysed with fear. They need legal help. This is not about compensation – it's about justice.' About 18,000 people have been given new documents confirming their status or British citizenship since the scandal broke. A Home Office spokesperson said the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, was 'determined to put right the appalling injustices caused by the Windrush scandal', make sure people received the compensation they rightly deserved and ensure permanent 'cultural change' at the department.
