Offshore gas platform with a tanker docked on it. Photo: BNamericas/file photo.
Venezuelan national oil company PetrĂłleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) and the oil companies National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC) and Shell signed an agreement for the exploration and extraction of non-associated gas in the Dragon Gas field, located in the Paria peninsula of Venezuela, days after US mainstream media reported a stalemate in PDVSA’s negotiations with Shell.
The granting of the licenses was reported by the Office of the Vice Presidency of Venezuela on Thursday, December 21. “This is how the signing of an agreement between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago for the production and export of gas occurs,” it was announced on social media. “The Vice President of the Republic, Delcy Rodriguez, led a historic ceremony that marks the good relations between the two countries.”
#EnFotos || AsĂ se desarrollĂł la firma de acuerdo entre Venezuela y Trinidad y Tobago para la producciĂłn y exportaciĂłn de gas. La vicepresidenta Ejecutiva de la RepĂşblica, @delcyrodriguezv, liderĂł un acto histĂłrico que marca las buenas relaciones entre ambas naciones.#22Dic pic.twitter.com/9Yif6Bcpkl
— Vicepresidencia Vzla (@ViceVenezuela) December 22, 2023
Similarly, PDVSA posted on its social media accounts, “PDVSA grants license to NGC and Shell for the exploration and extraction of natural gas from the Dragon Field.”
According to official information, the granting of the license is part of the energy policies promoted by President Nicolás Maduro to strengthen the position of Venezuela as a gas exporter for the global petrochemical and liquefied natural gas (LNG) initiative.
The signing of the agreement took place at the headquarters of PDVSA in Caracas and was attended by Vice President Delcy RodrĂguez, Petroleum Minister and PDVSA President Pedro Rafael Tellechea, Minister of Energy and Energy Industries of Trinidad and Tobago Stuart Young, NGC Director Mark Loquian, Shell Trinidad and Tobago President Adam Lowmass, and Alfredo Urdaneta, representative of Shell Venezuela.
At a press conference after signing the agreement, Venezuelan Vice President RodrĂguez said, “This great project marks a historic moment for Venezuela, since for the first time we will produce and export gas, and we will do so hand in hand with a sister nation, a neighboring country, Trinidad and Tobago. It is an example of what relations of cooperation and friendship between our countries should be.”
“This shows the great spirit of the people of Trinidad and Tobago and of Venezuela for making possible these relations of cordiality and partnership,” she added.
She also noted that the year is about to end “with a bang, which means the future development of this field in the hands of both countries with the participation of Shell as a company in the extraordinary terms. This expanded partnership aims to work for the sake of the happiness for our people.”
Likewise, Trinidadian Energy Minister Stuart Young said that NGC and Shell will work hand in hand with the Venezuelan government to develop this important gas project.
“This is a great day for Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago since after so much work today we gratefully received this license to produce gas in the Dragon Field,” Young said.
The agreement signing ceremony was also reported by Telesur, whose correspondent in Venezuela, Madelein GarcĂa, posted on social media, “Venezuela will export gas for the first time and will do that with Trinidad and Tobago. For the development of this project, the Venezuelan state-owned PDVSA and Trinidad and Tobago’s National Gas Company signed the exploration and export license for the Dragon Field located offshore in the state of Sucre.”
#ÚltimoMinuto| Venezuela por primera vez exportará gas y lo hará hacia Trinidad y Tobago.
Para el desarrollo de este proyecto la estatal venezolana @PDVSA y la estatal de Trinidad y Tobago, NGC National Gas Company
firmaron la licencia de explotaciĂłn y exportaciĂłn del campo… pic.twitter.com/IsF0Bdetb7— Madelein Garcia (@madeleintlSUR) December 22, 2023
On December 20, PDVSA and the Kòrsou Refinery (RdK) signed an agreement to reactivate commercial relations between Venezuela and Curaçao. The agreement defines general guidelines for the re-establishment of commercial and financial operations between the two oil companies.
The agreement also contains the possibility of studying the feasibility of the Venezuelan oil company storing its crude oil in the RdK facilities.
The agreement will favorably impact the economies of both Venezuela and Curaçao, as it would reactivate the old Isla Oil Refinery, with a processing capacity of 335,000 barrels per day.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SC
