Disclaimer: Excerpts of allegations, borrowed from UWI Alumni blog.

In April 2026, Trinidad and Tobago has been reduced to a subservient outpost in Shell’s expanding empire, and Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s government is directly responsible for this national humiliation. What was once a proud gas-producing nation is now scrambling to become a junior processor for Venezuelan gas under terms dictated by the London-based multinational. Shell calls the shots. Trinidad holds the bag.

Shell is aggressively locking down approximately 20 Tcf of Venezuelan reserves across the Mariscal Sucre fields and Loran. It will develop the upstream in Venezuelan waters, control the cross-border transport, and feed Trinidad’s Atlantic LNG plants. The company sets the pace, the investment decisions, and the profit split. Trinidad, dressed up like a bowtied butler, stands by to serve its idle infrastructure while taking on the political risk as if it were part of the damn job description.

Trinidad’s Atlantic LNG facility has been operating well below capacity in recent years due to declining domestic gas production, with output falling from over 4 billion cubic feet per day in the early 2010s to significantly lower levels today. Several LNG trains have faced shutdowns or underutilization as upstream supply tightened, forcing the country to seek external gas to keep its flagship energy sector alive. This cannot be described as cooperation it is a damn outright capitulation. Shell has effectively colonized the value chain while Port of Spain shamefully plays host.

Kamla’s disastrous foreign policy gamble made this subservience inevitable. By aligning Trinidad with Washington’s aggressive Caribbean posture and backing actions against Nicolás Maduro in late 2025, she provoked the suspension of gas projects and destroyed Trinidad’s leverage. Now her government must crawl back to the table, begging for Venezuelan molecules through the very company that stands to gain the most. The result is clear Trinidad is no longer negotiating it is submitting. Kamla has placed the country in a position of weakness where Shell plc dictates terms from a position of overwhelming strength.

This is a profound strategic downgrade. Trinidad once controlled its own destiny as an upstream owner and producer. Today, under Kamla, it is transitioning into a dependent processor reliant on a hostile neighbor’s gas and a powerful multinational’s goodwill. Energy security has been sacrificed on the altar of geopolitical posturing. Supply can be turned off by diplomatic spite or corporate calculus. Jobs and foreign exchange may trickle in, but real control and sovereignty have fled.

Shell’s CEO openly talks of final investment decisions while Kamla’s administration meekly adjusts to the company’s timeline and conditions. The message is unmistakable Trinidad now serves Shell’s interests first. The government that promised energy leadership has delivered corporate vassalage instead.

Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s reckless gamble has left Trinidad economically exposed, diplomatically compromised, and strategically subservient. The country still hosts the plants, but Shell owns the power. Unless this trajectory is reversed, history will record Kamla’s tenure as the period when Trinidad surrendered its energy future to a foreign giant.

@Slipfeeler

Slippy,

Its wise to ignore that word salad UWI blog. Did it note the bonus Shell paid to T&T?

Look at Guyana and it returns from Exxon , is it not subservient to the multinational?

Multinationals bid on blocks , they carry on with seismic surveys , then drill often with numerous wells. They have the expertise in deep water Venezuela nor T&T have such.

The previous government owing to its decisions found no new deposits in its decade tenure , did the blog note that's when shortages and plant closure occurred?

EXXon bought large blocks sole sourced within similar sandstone formation: Trinidad East Coast as Guyana , plus the Tobago Trough is now being explored to Barbados.

Kamla Makes Shell Work for T&T

Shell is a key partner,alongside the National Gas Company of T&T,in a 30-year licence to develop and export natural gas from Venezuela’s Dragon field to Trinidad and Tobago. Shell is now also in advanced talks with the Government of Venezuela to expand into four additional major gas areas, including Dragon. Venezuela lacks such compression stations.

Critics argue that this kind of partnership creates a “bowing” dynamic, where political and commercial extensions are granted in exchange for signature bonuses and production commitments. One frequently cited example is the five-year extension for the Aphrodite project.

A major part of the political controversy centres on Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s public stance on the Dragon Gas Deal. Opponents often allege that the T&T Government is repeatedly aligning itself with multinational interests, or adjusting its position to account for external pressures such as U.S. sanctions,in ways that may not fully protect national interests.

For example, Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley has alleged that certain individuals encouraged the U.S. to impose sanctions on T&T. Persad-Bissessar has challenged him to substantiate that claim by naming names. Rowley as usual failed.

Beyond the political arguments, the “gamble” also refers to the wider economic risk of Trinidad and Tobago’s reliance on cross-border gas arrangements. Government ministers, including Stuart Young, have accused the opposition of attempting to “sabotage” the Dragon deal. The concern raised by ministers is that if the process is left entirely in the hands of multinational companies (such as Shell and BP), the country could see reduced returns, they ignore the fact that NGC is involved. Representatives of NGC were part of the delegation to Venezuela with Rowley and Young.

In short, the “gamble” tied to Persad-Bissessar and Shell is not a literal wager. It’s a high-stakes political and economic risk, linked to how leadership navigates changing U.S. sanctions, multinational demands, and the need to secure T&T’s energy future.

Sarge

.................five-year extension for the Aphrodite project.

Shell requested this extension for four expiring licenses in its East Coast Marine Area (ECMA) to develop the Aphrodite gas field. The government, currently led by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar (in this 2026 context), has used this request as a lever to secure better terms for the country.

Shell is required to submit and receive approval for a detailed development plan for the field.

Signature Bonus: Shell agreed to pay a US$4 million signature bonus as a fee for the extension.

Energy Security: The project is critical because T&T's gas production has declined from 4.3 bcf/d to roughly 2.7–3.0 bcf/d. Aphrodite is expected to produce 18,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2027, which would help "backfill" the Atlantic LNG plant.

 The Aphrodite project is seen as a "lifeline" for T&T's gas sector, but the 5-year extension remains a political flashpoint regarding how much the government should demand from multinationals like Shell.

NGC reports $3.3b profit, highest in 11 years

The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC) has recorded a profit of $3.285 billion for the year ended December 31, 2025, its highest in 11 years, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has announced.“It is with a great sense of national pride and a deep sense of accomplishment that I announce today that NGC has reported a profit after tax for the year ended December 31, 2025, of $3.285 billion,” she said.

“This is the highest profit recorded by the NGC Group in 11 years and is double the previous year’s figure.”

She said the result was “not just a number" but a demonstration of the country’s potential when national assets are properly managed

@sgtdjones

I applaud your counter argument that, “high-stakes political and economic risk, linked to how leadership navigates changing U.S. sanctions, multinational demands, and the need to secure T&T’s energy future.”

NGC part of all cross-border talks’

Ramdeen on Venezuela gas deals: Everybody has to come here..

CHAIRMAN of the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC) Gerald Ramdeen says that NGC is a part of all gas agreements happening in Venezuela on the cross-border fields.He was responding to ques­tions on the memorandum of understanding signed between bp and acting Pre­sident of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday.Speaking at a gas supply agreement signing ceremony on Friday at the Hyatt Regency (Trinidad), Port of Spain, Ramdeen said, “What I can tell you is that the day before yesterday (Wednesday), members of the bp team from London are advan­cing talks with respect to the cross-border Manakin-Cocuina field.

“I don’t want to say anything more than that because I’m legally obligated not to disclose the details of that. But what I can tell you is that despite all the noises that you are hearing in the public domain, the exploration of Dragon, Manakin-Cocuina and Loran-Manatee is at a pace that will bring that gas to Trinidad in the shortest possible time. NGC is involved in all of those explorations with bpTT, and Shell.”

He also noted that there is competition for the Loran field, but says cross-border gas and the Dragon Gas “have to come to Trinidad”.

“The conversation has to be here. None of that gas can be monetised except in T&T. T&T has the only infrastructure to be able to monetise all of those things. So, this conversation that people are having and getting excited about going to Venezuela; everybody has to come here because the only place that gas can be monetised is in the infrastructure that is available in T&T,” said Ramdeen.As for the concerns of the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) licences for the Dragon and Cocuina-­Ma­n­akin gas projects with Venezuela, which were revoked, Ramdeen said a gene­ral licence was issued for all players to operate in Venez­uela.

@sgtdjones

Some people must understand that there's a poster with the handle of "sgtdjones"who will put them in their place,now slipfeeler has slipped in some oil and fall dong pon him face.

Gi dem performance sarge!😅

But wait wasnt it Kamla and her dUNCe supporters who said they don't need Vene gas?!

https://newsday.co.tt/2025/10/27/kamla-we-dont-need-venezuelan-gas/

Also, why do you dUNCe supporters always resort to lies and half-truths? Can't you ever make an argument based on truth?

@sgtdjones

For example, Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley has alleged that certain individuals encouraged the U.S. to impose sanctions on T&T. Persad-Bissessar has challenged him to substantiate that claim by naming names. Rowley as usual failed.

Are you denying that Moneylal on behalf of the then opposition wrote the US in relation to energy dealings?

Rowley didn't need to name names. The facts were widely reported.

In April 2020, Dr. Moonilal confirmed he wrote a letter to the US Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, Joseph Mondello, drawing attention to a shipment of fuel from state-owned Paria Fuel Trading that reportedly ended up in Venezuela, which was under strict US sanctions.

Key Aspects of the Controversy:

• The 2020 Letter: Moonilal justified the letter by saying that if the US intended to impose sanctions, they should be directed at specific members of the Keith Rowley-led government, not the entire country.
• Government Reaction: The ruling People's National Movement (PNM) condemned the move, accusing the UNC of trying to sabotage the country and inviting foreign sanctions on a sovereign nation.
• Continued Opposition Warnings: In 2022, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Dr. Moonilal warned that the government was "playing with fire" by holding high-level meetings with sanctioned Venezuelan officials regarding energy

The uNC did everything they could to scuttle energy negotiations with Venezuela. Cross border gas deals exist now in spite of UNC efforts.

Name one thing that this one year old government has done to advance the work done by the prior government in relation to cross-border gas? Negotiations in Caracas have resumed with one notable exception, T&T is NOT at the negotiating table.

The announcement several weeks ago that TnT would be sending a negotiating team to Caracas proved to be nothing more than wishful thinking.

Kamla is still persona non grata in Caracas ... But Jonesy and his crew all over social media saying "don't worry Trump will force Delcy to deal with Kamla" 😂

PNM rulers for over 50 years and look at what they have produced in that time,mostly criminals,what is worse is,they are all PNM supporters till they dead.

The oil company is dealing with the Dragon Gas for TT, TT don't want Venez.Gas they want what is theirs ,on their side of the border.You may as well know that Venez.has to send their Gas to Trinidad to be monetized,they have to do there's, no other way for them.

There's a Venezuelan Election coming up in a few months and the present Government of which Delcy is President would lose that election.

At the moment Trinidad is producing their own Gas and it has climbed to higer level than the last 10 years of Rowley reign,their are 3 more fields to work with and it will begin in a few months,so more Gas.The Amazon Warrior is still collecting data and would continue for 2 or 3 nonths,more oil and gas are expected,much more than we are now processing,.TT does not have to bother about cross -border projects but if it's in our waters we will legally have it.

One more thing,PNM is heading for their final 4 years they are a dead party now,lookout for a new Opposition in a 4 years time.

T

.

@granite

Dont waste time responding to PNM till I die morons....

How about these questions:

In ten year tenure did oil and gas production improve? NO

Regression occurred during this period approx 4.2 bcft per day ...to 2.4 bcft per day

The government paid Madero 1 million US per month during 8 years of it tenure.

Numerous visits by Young and even Rowley, dancing a conga routine in Madero Palace.

Meetings with the VP Delcy .

Permits approved by US government for 2 years ..what occurred?

Approx 10 plants mothballed and closed during Rowley's reign.

Blocks were put out for auction, then recalled owing to little interest during 10 years of PNM government.

The Government paid for an outdated LNG 1, 100 million US plus it will need 50 million in repairs.

Guyana ignores Rowley about the Refinery and its oil.

et al.....

New Government voted in massively

Exxon and Mobil return..Rowley and Young ignored when they visited Houston.

Exxon made a bid for all deep water in the North East.

Seismic studies underway as its is similar to Guyana's sandstone formation.

Well drilling to start shortly

Tobago Trough to Barbados under investigation.

Touchstone gas/oil supply double

BP and Shell in Partnership with NGC in advancing discoveries that were stagnant during Rowleys government of 10 years.

Note: What did Rowley and Young do as the gas supplies dwindled leaving a shortfall of over 2 billion cubic ft per day for the latter 5 years of their tenure?

They travelled London, Texas , Caracas on numerous occasions with great fanfare.

Result: Paid Madero almost 100 million US dollars for nothing ...

No Dragon Gas

If Dragon comes on stream...read carefully: T&T shortfall is: 2 billion cubic feet per day

Dragon can at it highest : 250 million cubic feet per day.

See why these morons are clueless.

Sarge

@granite

Rowley opened the unfinished Tobago last year before his rass got booted. Runway and Building wasn't completed.

Now we find out the no fuel lines were run to this airport, planes cannot get jet fuel.

He did the same to the POS general hospital , still under construction.😡

@granite

Please do not shoot the messenger, I have not advocated for any sides of the argument, my job is to present the article in the most unbiased way possible. We in Jamaica just following the trends and directions of T&T and Guyana, to make sure if the opportunity presents itself in the future we will not make the same mistakes or fall in the same pitfalls. Actually, it is a brilliant learning experience for us.

@Slipfeeler

Well sorry for shooting the messanger but I have read one assessment from someone,,(not the one you posted), at the UWI and I can only assume that they are anti Kamla and the UNC,,I am sure my assumption is not far out of the truth.UWI have always showed their true feelings to the PNM since the early days. I cannot understand how educated people can give their strong support to a set of Politicians who have brought our little country,once a paradise to the 5th most dangerous country in the world.I would like to tell you all that has gone during the last 10 years under Rowley , maybe another time.

OVER 50 YEARS IN POWER AND THIS IS WHAT WE ARE NOW,WE ARE NOW BUNCHED WITH THE 5 MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD.

Sorry mate i went off course a bit.

@sgtdjones

I see and take note,when you shoot dem dong with pure facts they go kuntry and hide under their rocks.😀

@sgtdjones

A cretin , charlatan and liar.

Readers and posters remember when this poster was posting about every misdemeanour, mishap and murder occuring in TnT on this forum. Now that his people are in power, even when there are 3, 4 or 5 murders in a day with the country in a perpetual state of emergency, not a word, .. just crickets.

After answering none of my questions about what his 'bound-to-drunk' PM and her cohorts have done for energy except ask for sanctions against their own country while in opposition, he proceeds to spew misinformation and pretends that gas projects bear instant fruit.

dUNCe people are strangers to the truth as usual.

Anyone can copy and paste, or make up sh1t, but context is important.

After years of neglect by his "people and dem"..

Between 2015 and 2025, Trinidad and Tobago’s natural gas sector went through a decade of significant developments, driven by the need to stabilize supply for LNG and petrochemical industries, while also adapting to global energy market pressures.

Project        | Operator | Timeline  | Impact

-----------------------|----------|------------|--------------------------------------------

Juniper Gas Project  | bpTT   | 2017    | Added ~590 million scf/day; major LNG boost

Matapal        | bpTT   | 2021    | ~400 million scf/day; tied back to Juniper

Cassia Compression   | bpTT   | 2022    | Extended life of mature fields via compression

Colibri        | Shell  | 2022    | ~250 million scf/day; supported LNG supply

Cypre         | bpTT   | 2025    | ~250 million scf/day; subsea tieback to Juniper

Manatee Field     | Shell  | 2020s   | Unlocks Trinidad’s share of Loran-Manatee reserves

Perenco Acquisitions  | Perenco | 2020–2022 | Took over mature assets; focused on recovery

Deepwater Exploration | bp, Shell, ExxonMobil | Ongoing | Several blocks under appraisal; long-term reserves

 Policy & Structural Changes

• Unitization ended (2019–2020): Trinidad abandoned the joint development approach with Venezuela for the Loran‑Manatee field, allowing Shell to move forward independently on the Manatee portion. This unlocked ~2.7 Tcf of reserves for Trinidad.
• Atlantic LNG restructuring (2020–2023): Government renegotiated contracts with bp, Shell, and others to secure better fiscal terms and ensure feedstock supply.
• Focus on mature fields: Compression projects and acquisitions aimed to extend life of declining reservoirs.

Market Context

• Global LNG competition: Rising supply from the U.S. and Qatar pressured Trinidad’s LNG exports.
• Energy transition: International decarbonization trends raised questions about long‑term gas demand, pushing Trinidad to consider renewables alongside gas.
• COVID‑19 impact (2020–2021): Temporary demand shocks and project delays, but recovery followed with Matapal and Colibri coming online.

Outlook by 2025

• Trinidad stabilized near‑term gas supply with Juniper, Matapal, Colibri, and Cypre.
• Medium‑term growth hinges on Manatee and deepwater discoveries.
• Structural reforms (Atlantic LNG restructuring, unitization ending) gave Trinidad more autonomy and improved investor confidence.
• 
  

His feigned ignorance and deliberate lies on these matters likely come from one motive which is obvious for all to see.