The prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Stuart Young, holds a press conference, April 8, 2025. Photo: TTT.
The United States has revoked authorizations for Trinidad and Tobago to produce gas fields jointly owned and operated with Venezuela.
The prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Stuary Young, made the announcement on Tuesday, April 8, at a press conference. “What I can tell Trinidad and Tobago is that we have been informed that our OFAC license, dated December 18, 2023, has been revoked … as has our license for Manakin-Cocuina [gas field].”
The government of former US President Joe Biden had granted some one-off exemptions for companies of various countries through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to carry out oil and gas production activities with Venezuela. For Trinidad and Tobago, British energy giants BP and Shell were allowed to operate in gas fields in contiguous waters with Venezuela, in partnership with Trinidad’s state-owned National Gas Company (NGC).
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Trinidad and Tobago has recently become one of the largest exporters of natural gas, but as its deposits dwindle, it is looking at launching operations in adjacent fields on the Deltana Shelf that is part of Venezuela’s maritime territory.
BP and Shell signed separate agreements with NGC, where they would hold 80% of the assets and the Trinidadian state would hold the remaining 20%. The Venezuelan state would receive royalties and taxes, without participating through the Venezuelan public company PDVSA.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/DZ
