Trinidad to Seek US Extension for Shell's Gas Project in Venezuela

• Trinidad and Tobago plans to ask U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to extend a license for Shell (Shell), and Trinidad's National Gas Company (NGC) to develop a key gas project in Venezuela, four sources close to the preparations said.
• The U.S. license was first granted in early 2023 as an exemption to Washington's sanctions on Venezuela. It enabled NGC and Shell to move forward on planning and preparation for the Dragon natural gas project off Venezuela's coast, aimed at supplying gas to Trinidad from around 2027. Washington amended the license in 2023 to allow payments in hard currency or in kind to Venezuela and its state-owned oil and natural gas company, PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.), for gas supplies and extended the expiration date to October 2025.
• U.S. sanctions target the entire Venezuelan oil and gas industry, which is controlled by PDVSA, meaning countries like Trinidad and private operators that abide by the measures require U.S. licenses to export or pay revenue to sanctioned entities including the government, the Central Bank and PDVSA.
• Shell and NGC will, therefore, need an extension to begin production once they make a final investment decision on the project which is expected this year. According to planning by the two companies, Dragon's initial production flow should be around 200 million cubic feet per day, one of the sources said.
• Trinidad's Prime Minister Keith Rowley this month said his government would soon brief Washington on the importance of keeping U.S. licenses to develop gas projects with Venezuela for reasons of regional energy security. He did not elaborate on the planned talks. Both companies have been working closely with Trinidad's Energy Minister Stuart Young and Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who have separately visited the survey vessel.

(Source: Reuters)