Trinidad and Tobago's Government has reportedly agreed to grant US oil giant ExxonMobil exploration rights to an ultra-deep area encompassing seven blocks, according to a Reuters report, citing two senior government officials.
This move marks ExxonMobil's return to the Caribbean nation's waters after more than two decades and follows an earlier report that discussions were ongoing for the exploration rights to the deep-water blocks.
The blocks, located north-west of ExxonMobil's highly successful Stabroek block in Guyana, are situated in waters ranging from 2,000–3,000m deep.
The signing of an agreement with ExxonMobil for the area, now referred to as Ultra Deep 1 (UD1), could take place as early as next week, the report said.
An ExxonMobil spokesperson was quoted as saying: "We will not comment on third party sources, but we routinely look at opportunities to optimise our advantaged portfolio.”
Trinidad and Tobago's Energy Minister, Roodal Moonilal, has not yet commented on the matter.
The agreement with Trinidad includes a signing bonus and a three-phase exploration programme, which involves seismic data acquisition and the drilling of exploration wells.
Should the exploration yield oil or gas, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago stands to benefit from royalty payments, profit sharing and a provision for cost recovery.
ExxonMobil first expressed interest in the Trinidadian blocks in November 2024.
The country, currently hosting a deep-water auction that is set to close on 17 September, has the right to negotiate individually for areas not included in competitive bidding, as per its laws.
With this development, Trinidad and Tobago aims to rejuvenate investment in its offshore sectors, which is crucial for sustaining its liquefied natural gas and petrochemical industries.
The nation is also hopeful of discovering oil in its deep waters, especially after a key offshore gas project with Venezuela was shelved due to the loss of US authorisation.
In neighbouring Guyana, ExxonMobil, alongside partners Chevron and CNOOC, is nearing the start of production at a fourth floating facility.
This expansion is set to increase output to more than 900,000 barrels per day, with a target of 1.7 million barrels per day by 2030.
