Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Stuart Young is confident the country’s gas deals are secure no matter the outcome of elections in Venezuela and the U.S.
Concerns were raised in TT’s parliament on the uncertainty of the deals.
“I can tell the population now, without giving away too much, we are not concerned now with the outcome of the elections in either country,” he is quoted as saying in a June 24 TT Newsday article.
Young added, “We have legal documentation that secures us with Venezuela. We have legal documentation that secures us with the United States government, despite who may be at the helm.”
Trinidad and Venezuela are cooperating to develop the Dragon Gas field which could start gas production in 2025 at 175 million cubic feet per day (cfd), before ramping up to 350 million (cfd). Cooperation with Venezuela will also allow Trinidad to boost its gas output with the Manatee field. In 2019, Trinidad and Venezuela agreed to independently exploit their respective shares of the hydrocarbon resources from the Loran-Manatee gas field which straddles the maritime border between the two countries. Subsequently, last year, NGC Trinidad and Shell Trinidad (Manatee operator) inked an amended domestic gas sales contract in anticipation that Shell would sanction the Manatee project.
The two countries are discussing cross-border development of the Manakin-Cocuina gas field. On the Trinidad side, Manakin is in the bpTT-operated Block 5b. Venezuela and Trinidad signed a Manakin-Cocuina unitization agreement in 2015. While sanctions had prevented progress in this regard due to the partial relaxation of sanctions late last year, allowed for the joint development of the field.
Industry analysts think otherwise.
Trinidad’s Dragon gas hopes tied to Venezuela’s elections choices | OilNOW
Trinidad’s upstream gas sector is poised to benefit from U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to withhold approvals for new U.S. LNG export projects. Americas Market Intelligence (AMI) noted that Trinidad’s economy heavily depends on its natural gas industry, particularly its ability to export LNG and convert it into downstream by-products. With the U.S. potentially limiting its gas exports, Trinidad hopes to replace some of the U.S. supply to Europe and benefit from the resumption of Venezuelan oil flows to the U.S. and other markets.
AMI highlighted that Trinidad and Tobago is likely rooting for a Democratic victory in the 2024 U.S. elections, as Biden is cautious about environmental pressures to limit the U.S. oil and gas industry. Conversely, a potential Trump presidency could reopen U.S. natural gas exports, posing competition for Trinidad. Historically, U.S. natural gas was restricted by a lack of export terminals until Trump lifted the moratorium, allowing U.S. LNG to dominate global markets. However, AMI expressed concerns that the prospects for Trinidad’s gas market could diminish due to Venezuela’s strained relations with the U.S.
