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BP, Shell seeking US licenses for gas fields shared with Venezuela – T&T minister says
Jan 28 (Reuters) – Shell and BP are seeking U.S. licenses to extract natural gas from fields in Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, the Caribbean Trinidad energy minister Roodal Moonilal said on Wednesday.
Trinidad is Latin America’s largest liquefied natural gas exporter and one of the world’s largest exporters of ammonia and methanol, but the Caribbean island has been aiming to develop offshore fields in Venezuela and on the maritime border to counter its declining reserves and secure supply. Its gas projects have progressed slowly in recent years amid frequent U.S. policy changes towards Venezuela. Venezuela under President Nicolas Maduro last year suspended energy-development cooperation with Trinidad and Tobago, including joint natural gas projects in the works.
But following its capture of Maduro this month, the U.S. is accelerating developments in the country’s oil and gas sector. U.S. licenses are needed for companies to develop the projects because of Washington’s sanctions on Venezuela’s energy industry.
SHELL, BP SEEK LICENSES
Shell is seeking a license to develop the Loran-Manatee discovery, Moonilal told reporters on the sidelines of the Indian Energy Week conference. The field holds some 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, with 7.3 tcf on Venezuela’s side and the remaining 2.7 tcf in Trinidad.
BP is seeking a license to develop the Cocuina-Manakin field, he added, whose Venezuelan portion belongs to the idled gas offshore project Plataforma Deltana which has 1 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves. Shell and BP did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment. “The United States is an ally and a very strong friend trying to reform, so we would help the companies when it comes to supporting their applications,” Moonilal said.
DRAGON GAS
Washington in October granted an authorization for Shell and Trinidad and Tobago to develop the Dragon gas field offshore Venezuela close to the maritime border, a project aimed at supplying Trinidad with Venezuelan gas.
Moonilal said he hopes to start production at the Dragon gas field in the fourth quarter of 2027, and that it will produce 350 million cubic feet of gas per day.
The move comes a day after Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa said his government would impose a 30%
Dragon holds one of the largest deposits of natural gas in Venezuela. With insufficient reserves and output, Trinidad needs the gas to feed its revenue-generating industries, from LNG to petrochemicals. With its projects back on track, Trinidad hopes to lead and co-operate with other Caribbean nations such as Suriname, Guyana, and Grenada to develop natural gas, Moonilal said. “There is emerging now a new Caribbean energy landscape, of which Trinidad and Tobago can position itself as a leader,” he added.
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