Trinidad and Tobago has signed a restructuring deal with the shareholders of LNG producer Atlantic LNG, including Shell and BP.
Trinidad’s energy ministry signed the deal on Tuesday with the representatives of Shell and BP in Trinidad Tobago as well as the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC).
The parties signed the amended and restated heads of agreement on the restructuring of the Atlantic LNG facility into a single unitized facility, Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Keith Rowley, said during the signing ceremony.
Also, Trinidad signed bilateral heads of agreement with BPTT and Shell on the restructuring of Atlantic LNG.
These agreements indicate that the government and the shareholders have agreed to the commercial terms of a restructured Atlantic LNG, Rowley said.
The parties would now work on binding definitive restructuring agreements which are projected to be executed by March 31, 2023, he said.
The deal follows a heads of agreement agreed earlier this year between the parties.
The Point Fortin facility features four trains with a total capacity of about 15 million tonnes per annum of LNG but the facility has been experiencing supply issues due to dwindling domestic gas reserves.
Shell and BP have the biggest stakes in Atlantic LNG trains, followed by NGC and Chinese Investment Corporation (CIC).
The government and partners in the facility have been in talks for about four years to find solutions to ensure the future supply to the facility and to simplify the shareholding structure.
CIC has a stake in the first train, which has been shut since 2020, but the company was not participating in the talks.
New Atlantic LNG structure
The parties agreed on term and conditions of the participation in the new entity, the new shareholding of Atlantic LNG, the commitment to gas supplies for the trains, third party access and other critical commercial arrangements, Rowley said.
He said that the new ALNG structure would see a greater involvement by the state in the supply and marketing of LNG while NGC would have a new and increased shareholding in the new Atlantic LNG structure.
Rowley did not reveal the details of the new shareholding structure.
According to Reuters, the parties agreed that the first train would remain closed due to a lack of natural gas supply while CIC no longer has a active stake.
Shell and BP reduced participation in two trains and NGC now has a shareholding in all four trains, compared to two previously, the agency said.