Trinidad and Tobago has made it clear that the Dragon Gas deal with Venezuela remains unaffected by the reinstated oil sanctions on the Spanish-speaking Republic.
In an April 17 statement, the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries clarified that the “…amendment to the OFAC General Licence 44 does not affect the Specific Amended OFAC licence that was issued to the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on October 17, 2023, which authorized the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC), Shell PLC and their affiliates to conduct business with the Government of Venezuela and Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) with respect to the Dragon Gas Field in Venezuela.”
Maduro announces signed deal for Dragon Gas development with Trinidad | OilNOW
The Ministry said the licence granted to TT, which allows for the Dragon Gas deal, is valid until October 31, 2025.
The Ministry’s statement also reminded that Trinidad secured a 30-year Exploration and Production Licence from the Venezuelan government, for the Dragon field and it advised that “the work to explore, produce and export the natural gas from this field to Trinidad and Tobago is continuing.”
At the stroke of midnight today, April 18, Washington will follow through on its commitment to reimpose oil sanctions against Venezuela. This action came after President Nicolas Maduro failed to uphold an agreement aimed to foster a democratic electoral process in the Spanish-speaking nation.
In preparation for a smooth transition following the expiration of General License 44, the U.S. has issued a 45-day wind-down license. The State Department announced that the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control will assess requests for individual licenses to continue operations beyond the wind-down period on a case-by-case basis.
The Dragon project targets production of 350 million cubic feet of gas per day (mcf/d).
