By Curtis Williams
PORT OF SPAIN (Reuters) - BP (NYSE:BP) expects the Calypso deepwater natural gas field off Trinidad and Tobago, which it shares with Woodside (OTC:WOPEY) Energy, to get the greenlight when a final investment decision (FID) is made as early as the end of next year, a company executive said.
BP, which holds a 30% stake in the Calypso discoveries that holds an estimated of 3.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas, had previously forecast the FID could be made in 2026.
"I see Calypso coming on," David Campbell, head of BP Trinidad and Tobago, said in an interview on the sidelines of an energy conference in the Port of Spain on Monday.
"They are working through capital value process, so increasing engineering, gradually selecting concepts (and) moving towards a final investment decision, which I hope will come in the next year or two years," Campbell said.
Australia's Woodside, which operates Calypso, continues progressing with the project and believes it can unlock the deepwater in Trinidad, project Director Stacy Patrick said on Tuesday during the conference.
Trinidad's government has been pressing operators, especially offshore drillers, to bring gas discoveries to market as it struggles with shortages due to dwindling production.
Energy minister Stuart Young told the energy conference that Calypso is planned to produce 700 million cubic feet per day of gas.
BP and Shell (LON:SHEL) were awarded three deepwater blocks last year, including an area once explored by Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) where it failed to find hydrocarbons.
Campbell said he believed BP and Shell can succeed where Exxon failed.
"There are many examples of fields around the world, including some of ours, where others have come in afterwards and found things we have not seen because they are using better technology and that is the reason," Campbell said.
BP's future in Trinidad is in the deepwater, Campbell said. The company has discovered more than 20 tcf of gas and a billion barrels of oil in the Columbus basin, off the south eastern coast of Trinidad near Venezuela, where it is still developing gas projects.
Trinidad hopes to catch new investment through a bidding round for deepwater blocks planned for this year, minister Young said at the conference.