Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced yesterday that energy multinational BP has agreed to sell a 20% stake in a block that contains the Trinidad part of the cross-border Cocuina-Manakin natural gas field to the National Gas Company (NGC).Persad-Bissessar’s announcement was made at a function at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, during the official visit of United States Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.The Prime Minister signalled industrial renewal in T&T and said the country will be securing the gas needed to sustain it.She said yesterday marked a major advance in the Manakin-Cocuina project.She noted that Manakin lies in Trinidad and Tobago’s Block 5, while Cocuina lies across the maritime border in Venezuela’s Plataforma Deltana Block 4.Persad-Bissessar recalled that, in February 2015, both governments agreed to develop the field as a single unit, apportioning 66% to Manakin and 34% to Cocuina.She said this makes Manakin-Cocuina the only unitised cross-border gas field in the Western Hemisphere where agreement has been reached to develop the entire field.Manakin operates under the Block 5 Production Sharing Contract, with BP affiliate Amoco Trinidad Gas BV as contractor, and BP agreed to assign NGC a 20% interest, she noted.The Prime Minister said that on May 28, 2024, NGC and BP received an OFAC licence to negotiate for Cocuina.Persad-Bissessar noted that Venezuela issued a 20-year licence on July 29, 2024, granting NGC a 20% stake and BP an 80% stake in those fields.She said negotiations for NGC’s Manakin interest began around August 2024 but remained incomplete when the Government changed in April 2025.She pointed out that the Cocuina Joint Operating Agreement governs the Cocuina licensees; the Block 5(b) Farm-Out Agreement gives NGC participation in Block 5(b), including Manakin; and the Block 5(b) Joint Operating Agreement governs the BP and NGC affiliates.“These agreements align NGC across the field, remove a major obstacle and allow BP to accelerate its final investment decision, completing in a little over one year what remained undone for more than ten years,” she said. “That field (Manakin-Cocuina) is expected to become the first successful cross-border development to monetise gas through Trinidad and Tobago.”She said Government was delighted this has been brought to fruition as she expressed gratitude to bpTT president David Campbell.She said there was a second announcement in which BP has acquired all the shareholding of Woodside.“Since I came into office we have been trying to get Woodside to do something with the Calypso field and if you not doing something, sell it. Congratulations, Mr Campbell, after one year you were able to acquire all the shares from Woodside so you are now 100% tied up with that Calypso field which would again bring much needed energy to Trinidad,” she said.Calypso, a major domestic gas source and first deep-water development, covers Blocks TTDAA 14 and 23(a), was awarded to BHP Billiton during the 2012-2014 bid rounds under her first administration, she recalled.Persad-Bissessar said after returning to office in April 2025, she met BP Executive Vice President William Lin, Campbell and a Woodside team led by Vice President Grant McKenzie.She said they established a project concept, a path to a final investment decision and discussions on possible NGC equity participation.She said on August 6, 2026, just over 16 months after her Government took office, BP agreed to acquire Woodside.She said this will accelerate project sanction, reduce costs, maximise the use of NGC infrastructure and secure the required fiscal support from the Ministry of Energy.She paused to recall that in July this year the Government signed MOUs with two data centre companies.The Prime Minister further welcomed ExxonMobil, noting that within months an agreement was signed with the company.She said together with ExxonMobil’s recent endorsement of the deep-water exploration bid, BP’s decision signals renewed international confidence in Trinidad and Tobago’s offshore energy potential.She said her Government will work with BP, NGC and all stakeholders to accelerate the project’s final investment decision and production.Persad-Bissessar said ExxonMobil’s return is an important vote of confidence in T&T’s energy sector and this Government’s drive to restore upstream exploration and investment.She noted the company last explored here more than two decades ago, exiting in 2003 after unsuccessful activity.Final investment decisionAccording to a Reuters report yesterday, the Cocuina-Manakin field contains one trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves.It stated that NGC already holds a 20% stake in the Cocuina portion on the Venezuelan side.BP and NGC have agreed to market 70% of the project’s gas to Atlantic LNG, which operates Latin America’s largest liquefied natural gas export facility.Reuters stated that the complex has struggled in recent years due to declining domestic natural gas supplies in Trinidad that have constrained its output, forcing the closure of one of its four trains.BP owns a 45% stake in Atlantic LNG, while NGC holds 10% and Shell owns the remaining 45%. Venezuela’s oil ministry did not immediately reply to requests for comment yesterday, Reuters stated.Development at Cocuina-Manakin is progressing toward a final investment decision, which the two sources said they expected by the end of the year. The remaining 30% of produced natural gas at Cocuina-Manakin will be used in petrochemicals.Gratitude to TrumpThe Prime Minister expressed her gratitude to US President Donald Trump.She said the two nations have turned a long-standing friendship into action, creating opportunities for their people and strengthening the wider Caribbean.She said the partnership with the US redounds to the benefit of both T&T and the United States.“I want to take a moment to thank President Trump and his team,” she said.She said Landau’s visit advanced three initiatives:1. Curlew Midstream’s proposedfuel-storage and bunkering terminal;2. Pinnacle Steel and Vanadium Corporation’s restoration of the former ISCOTT plant; and3. the NGC-BP agreements forManakin-Cocuina.She said the Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) signed yesterday involving Pinnacle Steel and Hummingbird AI Holdings also support the country’s development as a regional centre for technology-driven investment.“We are restoring Point Lisas as an engine of growth. Pinnacle’s acquisition and proposed upgrade of the former ISCOTT plant for steel and vanadium production can and will restore capacity, create jobs and benefit local contractors and manufacturers, while signalling confidence in our steel sector,” she said.