PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Energy Chamber of Trinidad & Tobago (ECTT) has described as “disappointing” but “not unexpected” the announcement by the United States that it was revoking the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) license that had been granted to Trinidad and Tobago to allow Shell, the National Gas Company (NGC) and contractors to explore, produce, and export natural gas from the Venezuelan Dragon Gas Field.
In a statement, the chamber said that it has noted the news that the two OFAC special licenses for the Dragon and Cocuina fields have been revoked by Washington.
“This is disappointing news, but not unexpected given the previous cancellation of other general and special licenses for companies working in Venezuela.”
The license had been valid until October 31, 2025 and enabled Trinidad and Tobago to pay for gas in various currencies and through humanitarian measures. Trinidad and Tobago had also secured a 30-year exploration and production license from the government of Venezuela for the Dragon gas field on December 21, 2023.
Washington has also revoked the Cocuina-Manakin license that was granted to Port of Spain on May 31, 2024.
Prime Minister Stuart Young told a news conference on Tuesday that he had received communication from the relevant US authorities on the issue and that Port of Spain had been given a winding down period until May 27 this year.
“What I can tell Trinidad and Tobago is that we have now been informed that our license from OFAC, which is dated 18th December 2023, has been revoked by OFAC and the Cocuina-Manakin license.
“But I can tell Trinidad and Tobago, I don’t have much details on that. I have been in touch with our attorneys at law in Washington DC. There is a process, I won’t say for appeal of this revocation but there is a process for you to make an application for it not to be or for there to be amendments.
“We are going to be engaging in that process on behalf of Trinidad and Tobago,” Young said, adding that he had also “reach out” to the US Special Envoy for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mauricio Claver-Carone, and put in a request for a telephone conversation with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “all of which I expect us to have the opportunity for me once again on behalf of Trinidad and Tobago to present our case”.
The Energy Chamber said that the importation of pipeline gas from Venezuela for processing and onward sales to international markets as either Liquified natural gas (LNG) or petrochemicals, remains a significant economic opportunity for Trinidad and Tobago.
“It is important that the government of Trinidad & Tobago continues to engage actively with both the government of the United States and Venezuela to find a mechanism to pursue this opportunity.
“At the same time, there are significant opportunities to develop natural gas fields within Trinidad and Tobago’s exclusive economic zone and these must also be pursued actively and urgently.”
The chamber said that there are a number of fields, including Mento, Coconut, Ginger and Manatee, that are currently being developed and others, including Calypso, Blackjack and Onyx where companies are working towards taking a final investment decision.
“All of these opportunities should be pursued to help maintain and increase Trinidad and Tobago’s upstream gas production.”
Meanwhile, the main opposition United National Congress (UNC), which is campaigning for the April 28 general election, said the government had been warned about the project.
“We told the government that they had to do things properly with these licenses and the new Trump administration,” said former leader of the Opposition Business in Parliament, David Lee.
He told the NEWSDAY newspaper that the opposition had warned the government against “placing all their eggs in one basket with (Venezuelan president Nicolas) Maduro.”
“They should have – and I keep repeating it once more – for the last ten years this government should have been incentivizing energy companies in Trinidad to continue drilling and exploring within our territorial waters.
“The Opposition kept saying we have no problem if you get the gas from Venezuela, but not at the expense of jeopardizing our own exploration and drilling in our own territorial waters. “So we are not surprised. We told this government that this could happen. We told this government that a new (American) administration is a whole different ball game,” he added.
