The Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has signed with Trinidad and Tobago an investment license to export gas from the Dragon Field located off the coast of Sucre state.
Venezuela will export gas for the first time so that its transaction will be with the National Gas Company NGC in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Venezuelan national oil company said that the license granted by Venezuela to Shell and the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago will allow companies to produce natural gas for 30 years.
Venezuela, shell and NGC signed the license in Caracas for the Dragon project, which could mark the OPEC member’s first exports from its vast offshore gas reserves.
The license was signed by Trinidad’s Energy Minister Stuart Young and Venezuelan oil minister Pedro Telechea.
PDVSA said in a statement that the license provides for an initial production of 185 million cubic feet per day of gas to be sent to Trinidad for the production of liquefied natural gas and petrochemicals.
Dragon and 3 adjacent offshore gas fields were discovered by PDVSA and their reserves were confirmed more than a decade ago.
The company also installed some infrastructure, conducted production tests and began construction of a gas line to the shore of Venezuela.
But the project has not been commercially developed due to a lack of partners and investments, and more recently due to US sanctions.
Venezuela is trying to liquidate its gas reserves, the largest in Latin America, to supplement its revenues from crude oil and fuel exports, which are the country’s largest source of hard currency income.
Last October, Washington eased sanctions on Venezuela by issuing a 6-month license that allows the Venezuelan national oil company to export crude oil and gas to markets of its choice, to receive foreign investments and cash proceeds.
