Trinidad’s Mento Gas Project goes live: bpTT and EOG boost regional output

In a major milestone for the Caribbean energy sector, bp Trinidad and Tobago (bpTT) and its joint venture partner EOG Resources Trinidad Ltd. announced the successful first gas from the Mento platform. Located off Trinidad’s southeast coast, the Mentos Gas Project is part of bp’s global upstream push and represents a critical step in the company’s delivery of 10 major oil and gas projects between 2025 and 2027. With drilling now underway for seven more wells, the Mento development is expected to significantly contribute to bp’s targeted 250,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) in combined net production from this global slate.

The start-up of Mento reflects not just bp’s technical prowess, but also the strategic importance of Trinidad in the global energy equation—especially as demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) stabilizes following pandemic disruptions and the European energy crisis. The project also reinforces how operational partnerships like the one between bpTT and EOG are critical in unlocking offshore assets with speed and scale.

What Is the Strategic Importance of the Mento Gas Project?

The Mentos Gas Project is a 50/50 joint venture between bpTT and EOG Resources Trinidad Ltd., with EOG acting as the operator. Built at the TOFCO fabrication yard in La Brea, the platform features a 12-slot attended facility that will serve as a central hub for both initial and future wells. This startup is not just about incremental production; it is the manifestation of a long-term capital strategy that prioritizes low-cost, low-carbon intensity natural gas assets in politically stable regions.

Mento fits directly into bp’s strategic upstream pipeline, which includes 10 new project start-ups globally over the next three years. These projects, together expected to produce 250,000 boed at peak, form the backbone of bp’s capital expenditure shift towards gas-heavy upstream investments that align with its net-zero ambitions.

By choosing to prioritize Mento within this global framework, bpTT and EOG signal their confidence in Trinidad’s geological prospectivity, regulatory stability, and local execution capability.

How Does Mento Strengthen bpTT’s Upstream Portfolio?

bpTT remains the country’s leading hydrocarbon producer and a key regional asset within bp’s broader upstream portfolio. The company operates 12 offshore platforms, three subsea installations, and two major onshore gas processing facilities, supplying gas for both domestic consumption and LNG exports through Atlantic LNG.

The Mentos Gas Project builds upon a successful history of joint ventures between bpTT and EOG Resources in Trinidad. Previous collaborative developments include the EMZ field (2011), Sercan (2016), and Banyan (2017), all of which helped build the operational and commercial trust necessary to move forward with larger, more technically demanding projects like Mento and the upcoming Coconut development, scheduled for a 2027 start-up.

This legacy of execution offers bpTT and EOG a critical advantage: the ability to replicate fast-track development timelines with fewer surprises. The successful deployment of the Mento platform and immediate gas production is a case study in the benefits of continuity in JV execution.

Institutional Sentiment: What Are Markets Saying About Mento?

From a market perspective, Mento’s start-up has been received as a positive—albeit priced-in—development for bp. The company’s share price remained stable following the announcement, but analysts have flagged the project’s on-time delivery as a reinforcing signal for bp’s upstream discipline, especially under the leadership of Bernard Looney’s successor, who has kept the company’s energy transition balanced between green investments and core hydrocarbon outputs.

EOG Resources, which maintains a primarily U.S.-focused production portfolio, stands to benefit from Mento’s contribution to international diversification and high-margin output. The project’s cost structure and favorable fiscal regime offer EOG an attractive return on capital without excessive operational risk.

Institutional commentary also highlights how Mento’s gas will feed into Trinidad’s existing LNG infrastructure, potentially stabilizing supply for export markets. Analysts at HSBC and Wood Mackenzie have noted that bpTT’s successful gas ramp-ups are crucial to preventing underutilization at Atlantic LNG, which has historically operated below full capacity due to gas shortfalls.

Why Is bp Betting on Trinidad Amid a Shifting Global Energy Landscape?

As global oil majors rebalance portfolios toward energy transition goals, natural gas has emerged as the most viable bridge fuel. Trinidad and Tobago’s extensive pipeline network, skilled labor force, and proximity to key export markets—such as the U.S. East Coast and Europe—make it an ideal candidate for accelerated upstream investment.

The country’s geological endowment includes deepwater and shallow water gas-rich plays, and its regulatory framework has proven supportive of joint ventures. Additionally, local fabrication yards like TOFCO provide the infrastructure backbone for project execution, minimizing logistical delays and enabling local content targets.

In this context, the Mentos Gas Project becomes more than just a standalone development; it’s an anchor in bp’s Caribbean strategy and a potential model for future replicable developments.

What’s Next for bpTT and EOG After Mento?

Looking forward, the bpTT–EOG partnership will continue with the Coconut gas development project, scheduled to begin production in 2027. While details on Coconut’s production capacity have not been fully disclosed, insiders suggest it could mirror or exceed Mento’s scale, given bp’s ambition to replace declining fields with new gas volumes.

The joint venture’s cumulative track record and the apparent lack of delays or cost overruns on Mento suggest that Coconut may benefit from enhanced pre-drill subsurface data, faster permitting cycles, and synergies in infrastructure utilization.

Industry observers have speculated that other prospects may also emerge in adjacent acreage, as bpTT continues to evaluate exploration and appraisal results in underdeveloped blocks. Any future activity will likely be aligned with the company’s evolving metrics of low-carbon intensity and high free cash flow per barrel.

Sentiment Summary and Investment Implications

For equity investors, the successful first gas at Mento provides a minor but meaningful tailwind to bp’s upstream valuation metrics, reinforcing confidence in the company’s three-year capital deployment roadmap. For EOG, it offers further validation of its ability to expand internationally with surgical precision.

Trinidad and Tobago’s gas sector also stands to benefit. More consistent feedstock could reinvigorate the country’s LNG exports and petrochemical sector, improving government revenues and increasing the potential for additional foreign direct investment (FDI) in the offshore sector.

Portfolio managers with holdings in energy-transition-aligned fossil fuel producers have flagged bp’s Trinidadian projects as a strong case for “selective resilience,” where gas assets remain relevant even under net-zero frameworks due to their lower emissions profile compared to oil.

Why Mento Gas Project Is A Model for Balanced Energy Expansion

The Mento development exemplifies a hybrid strategy that energy majors must master in the years ahead—one that balances decarbonization imperatives with operational reliability and capital efficiency. With Coconut on the horizon and market fundamentals turning more favorable for gas, bpTT and EOG’s collaboration in Trinidad is likely to shape the region’s upstream trajectory for years to come.

The Mentos Gas Project, while regionally focused, ties directly into global energy trends around security of supply, LNG demand, and the prioritization of low-carbon, high-efficiency gas developments. bpTT’s success with Mento could very well position it as a template for upstream partnerships in the Global South and beyond.