Trinidad is the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Latin America and one of the world's largest exporters of ammonia and methanol, but the Caribbean island was aiming to develop offshore fields in Venezuela and on the maritime border to counter its declining reserves and secure supply.
The licenses, which have allowed Shell, BP and Trinidad's National Gas Company to plan the projects as exemptions to the U.S. sanction regime on Venezuela, now have a May 27 deadline for the companies to wind down activities, Young said in a press conference. Venezuela in 2023 granted Shell a 30-year license to operate the Dragon field, which contains 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. The project aimed to begin gas exports to Trinidad next year to be turned into LNG.
U.S. licenses are needed for the companies to negotiate, plan and develop the projects because of Washington's sanctions on Venezuela's energy industry and its state-owned company PDVSA. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration last month began suspending many authorizations linked to Venezuela, including to U.S.-based Chevron, Italy's Eni and Spain's Repsol, giving them all until May 27 to wind down operations and exports.
Shell declined to comment. BP and Venezuela's government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trinidad and Tobago's prime minister, Young, said the revocation stops any payments to Venezuela related to the projects. Trinidad is seeking a meeting with the U.S. government to discuss the suspensions and also its recent tariff imposition on Chinese shipping, which could harm the Caribbean island and others in the region.
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