BP's Cassia platform offshore Trinidad and Tobago (for illustration purposes);

With the need to ensure energy independence in mind, the government of Trinidad and Tobago has initiated its new bidding round to boost hydrocarbon exploration and production in this Caribbean twin-island country located off the northern edge of the South American mainland.

Given the myriad of challenges the world is facing today – from energy security issues and climate change to population growth and geopolitical woes – the era of oil and gas dominance on the global energy market’s scene seems to be far from winding down, especially in certain regions.

Stuart Young, Trinidad and Tobago’s Energy Minister, has underscored that the government is moving forward with its ‘Deep Water Competitive Bidding Round 2025’ to optimize the utilization of hydrocarbon resources by securing investments in the upstream sector.

Young has also disclosed that the country is “receptive” to out-of-bid round proposals to ensure a further boost for the upstream sector, as the deepwater arena holds the “greatest promise” for major oil and gas discoveries in his book.

The government’s new bidding round contains 26 offshore blocks, encompassing Block 24, Block 26, TTDAA 1, TTDAA 10, TTDAA 11, TTDAA 12, TTDAA 13, TTDAA 15, TTDAA 16, TTDAA 2, TTDAA 24, TTDAA 25, TTDAA 26, TTDAA 27, TTDAA 28, TTDAA 29, TTDAA 3, TTDAA 30, TTDAA 31, TTDAA 32, TTDAA 4, TTDAA 5, TTDAA 6, TTDAA 7, TTDAA 8, and TTDAA 9.

All these blocks are situated along the eastern and northern coasts of Trinidad and Tobago. The bids for the bidding round, launched on January 27, 2025, come with a deadline for submission, which is set for July 2, 2025, with successful bids slated to be announced three months after the close of bidding.

As the 26 deepwater blocks will be governed by production sharing contract (PSC) agreements, the 2025 Model PSC – to be positively vetted by the Attorney General – is expected to ensure that operations will be carried out in line with international standards and that all parties receive a fair share of revenue generated by the extraction and disposal of crude oil and natural gas.

Moreover, a pre-bid fee of $25,000 allows interested parties to participate in this bidding round, entitling parties to a data package that provides information on the 26 blocks on offer to assist in acreage evaluation. According to Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries, several major upstream projects have already been approved and are in execution.

These are Manatee, Cypre, Mento, and Coconut projects, alongside onshore and offshore development drilling campaigns, as well as the Brechin Castle solar farm. Multiple projects are also advancing toward final investment decisions (FIDs), including Calypso, Ginger, Blackjack, Onyx, Dragon, and Manakin-Cocuina, as well as the NewGen green hydrogen project.

Aside from these, there are exploration programs that are planned or in execution, including both seismic programs and exploration drilling, which are said to represent significant opportunities not just in securing more gas, but also oil production.

BP has made progress in advancing the Cypre subsea gas development project off the southeast coast of Trinidad and Tobago to achieve the first gas from the project in 2025. This will become the firm’s third subsea development in Trinidad and Tobago, entailing seven wells and subsea trees tied back into the firm’s existing Juniper platform.

BP got the NCMA 2 block, said to open a new area of exploration for the energy giant, approximately 30 miles (48.28 kilometers) off Trinidad’s north coast, as part of the Shallow Water 2023/24 bid round that closed in May 2024.