Woodside Energy, an Australian company, has halted its offshore oil and gas production in Trinidad & Tobago after a recent process safety incident on one of its platforms. The shutdown was done as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of personnel.

The nation's Energy Ministry revealed that one of its major upstream gas suppliers had to shut in gas production to address an unplanned technical issue, causing a significant reduction in current gas supply and affecting gas end users. The situation is receiving urgent attention from the upstream entity, and authorities hope for a swift resolution.

As the third-largest gas producer in Trinidad & Tobago, Woodside Energy's production accounts for 13% of the total output. Last year, the company averaged 351 million cubic feet of gas per day. Woodside operates two shallow-water conventional oil and gas fields in the region - Angostura and Ruby.

Angostura, located 38 kilometres northeast of Trinidad, started oil production in 2005, with gas sales commencing six years later. Ruby, on the other hand, began its operations in 2021. The fields' facilities include a central processing platform, gas export platform, four wellhead protector platforms, a wellhead platform, and an onshore terminal. The oil from the central processing platform is transported to the terminal facility in the southeastern part of Trinidad.

Woodside operates both blocks on behalf of partners National Oil Company and Chaoyang. The Energy Minister, Stuart Young, held discussions with Woodside's acting president, Kellyanne Lochan, and the company's executive vice president of international operations, Shiva McMahon, to address the issue.

Due to the gas shortage, several plants on the Point Lisas Industrial Estate have temporarily closed, causing disruptions. The National Gas Company of Trinidad & Tobago (NGC) mentioned that while some plants were undergoing routine maintenance, others had to suspend operations due to Woodside's shut-in and reduced available gas volumes. NGC is actively engaging with suppliers and customers to minimize the impact of the situation and hopes for a quick resolution.