Trinidad and Tobago’s crude oil and condensate production averaged 54,209 barrels per day during the first three months of 2026, building on the gains recorded last year and offering an encouraging indication that the country’s long decline in oil output may be easing.
Data from the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries’ Monthly Consolidated Bulletins show production averaged 54,052 barrels per day in January, rose to 55,244 barrels per day in February and moderated to 53,431 barrels per day in March.
The first-quarter average was 427 barrels per day, or 0.8 per cent, above the 2025 annual average of 53,782 barrels per day. Compared with the first quarter of 2025, production increased by approximately 2,447 barrels per day, or 4.7 per cent.
While three months of data are not enough to confirm a sustained recovery, the results continue the improvement seen in 2025, when average production rose by 5.7 per cent from 50,890 barrels per day in 2024.
That increase followed several years of generally lower production. Crude oil and condensate output averaged 71,705 barrels per day in 2016 before falling to 56,472 barrels per day in 2020.
Production recovered to 59,865 barrels per day in 2021 before easing to 58,450 barrels per day in 2022, 53,726 barrels per day in 2023 and 50,890 barrels per day in 2024.
The improvement during the first quarter of 2026 was led by stronger production from EOG Resources, Perenco and bpTT.
EOG recorded the largest year-on-year increase. The company’s crude and condensate production averaged 3,821 barrels per day during the first three months of 2026, compared with approximately 1,773 barrels per day during the same period last year. Production exceeded 4,000 barrels per day in both January and February before easing in March.
Perenco also posted a strong increase. Average production reached 10,156 barrels per day in the first quarter, up from about 8,309 barrels per day during the corresponding period in 2025. Output remained above 10,000 barrels per day in both February and March.
BpTT also contributed to the national increase. Liquids production averaged 4,906 barrels per day during the first quarter, compared with approximately 3,263 barrels per day in the same period last year. Monthly production remained relatively consistent throughout the quarter, ranging between 4,812 and 5,047 barrels per day.
Smaller gains were recorded by Heritage Petroleum’s exploration and production service contract operations, TETL’s Central Block and SESL.
The first-quarter figures broadly align with the government’s expectation that national oil production will strengthen over the next several years.
Speaking at the Society of Petroleum Engineers of T&T’s Mature Basins Energy Symposium in July, Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Dr Roodal Moonilal said crude oil production is projected to average 57,300 barrels per day during fiscal 2026 before increasing to about 62,100 barrels per day in 2027 and reaching 74,600 barrels per day by 2029.
The Minister attributed the expected growth to a combination of new drilling activity, liquids-rich gas developments, Heritage Petroleum’s land and offshore programmes, bpTT and EOG Resources’ work in the T&T Southern Petroleum Company area, and Perenco’s planned activity in the Poui field.
The Ministry’s projections are based on the fiscal year and should not be directly compared with the January to March calendar-year average. Even so, the early 2026 production data point in the same direction.
The increase recorded so far is modest, but it is encouraging. After reaching its lowest annual average in recent years during 2024, production improved in 2025 and has remained above last year’s level during the opening months of 2026.
Whether that trend continues will depend on drilling activity, maintenance schedules, field performance and the timing of new developments over the remainder of the year.
