Two local private sector organisations–the American Chamber of T&T (Amcham T&T) and the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce–have welcomed this week’s progress on the development of the natural gas resources in the Dragon field.
On Tuesday, Energy Minister Stuart Young announced that the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had granted T&T permission to pay Venezuela for gas from the Dragon gas field in US dollars, Venezuelan bolivares, fiat currency and humanitarian aid.
Young also announced that the licence, which exempts the Dragon development from US sanctions, has been extended to October 31, 2025.
At a press conference on Tuesday Young explained, “It also allows T&T, working along with NGC and Shell, to negotiate, and complete negotiations and all agreements with the Venezuelan government and PDVSA for the development, production and export of that gas from the Dragon gas field in T&T for us to develop it, and for us to make payments in fiat currency, as well as US dollars, as well as Bolivar, as well as via humanitarian measures, which is what was envisaged initially.”
In a statement issued yesterday, Amcham T&T said it noted the continued efforts by Prime Minister Keith Rowley and Young, who led the engagement on this matter with the US government to advance the operationalisation of this project.
“We also acknowledge the support given to the process by US Ambassador Candice Bond and the team at the Embassy. We are optimistic that this latest development will lead to several opportunities for our energy sector and will continue to support these efforts in our own engagement with the various arms of the US Government and private sector,” Amcham T&T added.
It said Amcham T&T has also taken note of, and welcomed, recent Caricom-supported agreements that could lead to the strengthening of Venezuela’s democracy and, ultimately, full re-integration into hemispheric systems.
In a news release on Tuesday, the Energy Chamber described the announcement as a “very significant development” for the energy industry in Trinidad & Tobago.
“The announcement represents an important further milestone in the plans to import natural gas from Venezuela for use in our well-developed, existing downstream gas industry and LNG export facilities. This natural gas will help return the mid-and-downstream infrastructure in Trinidad to capacity utilisation and will provide the world with a much-needed secure source of LNG and petrochemicals, such as methanol and ammonia.”
The Energy Chamber also took note of Young’s confirmation that Shell will operate the Dragon field and that gas will be brought to the existing Hibiscus platform for onward transmission to plants in Trinidad.
“The Energy Chamber would like to commend the Trinidad & Tobago government and its partners, the National Gas Company and Shell, in progressing this important project and we look forward to further updates as the commercial and technical agreements are finalised,” said the Energy Chamber.