Exxon In Talks with Trinidad to Explore Oil and Gas in Seven Deepwater Blocks

• Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) has begun negotiations with the Trinidad and Tobago government to explore oil and gas in up to seven deepwater blocks off the East Coast of the Caribbean country, which the top U.S. oil producer left more than two decades ago, two sources close to the talks told Reuters. According to the sources, 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.
• Trinidad and Tobago is speaking with several major oil and gas companies, Trinidad and Tobago's Energy Minister, Roodlal Moonilal, told Reuters on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. "We are in discussions with major players to ramp up exploration and production within and outside of bid rounds," Moonilal said, without disclosing names. However, Exxon has not confirmed same.
• 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 2025, a flagship offshore gas project with neighbouring Venezuela that lost its U.S. authorisation 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 that has been extended to close on September 17, 2025, 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 Trinidad is now seeing a renewed interest in its ongoing deepwater auction, the country's energy minister said at a conference early in July 2025. Energy Minister Roodlal Moonilal 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.

(Source: Reuters)