Trinidad and Tobago eyes more natural gas from Dragon field offshore Venezuela following Shell deal

There is an “open door” for the countries to develop more offshore natural gas fields that sit on mutual territories after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro issued a license so Shell Plc and Trinidad and Tobago can import from the Dragon project, Mark Loquan, President of Trinidad and Tobago’s national gas company, said in the sidelines of a conference in Port of Spain.

As its gas reserves decline, Trinidad and Tobago is rushing to secure more natural gas fields to meet demand. It is looking within its own waters and those shared with its neighbors.

The Dragon deal, which could see the countries exporting gas by 2027, involves transporting to Trinidad and Tobago’s Atlantic LNG plant via a Shell-owned offshore platform and could start with output of 175 MMcfd and ramp up to 350 MMcfd.

“There is not only Dragon. There are other fields that are joined in Trinidad and Venezuela which can be taken further,” including Manekin-Cocuina and a PDVSA flaring gas capturing project, Loquan said.

Loquan said the license Venezuela granted will be published soon, offering the first public details of the project. Currently the countries are evaluating plans to inspect wells and build a 13-mile (21 kilometers) pipeline to Shell’s Hibiscus offshore platform in Trinidad’s territory.

In 2023, Trinidad and Tobago exported 8.4 million metric tons of LNG, 1% less than the previous year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.