PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago — The United States government has granted Shell and the government of Trinidad and Tobago authorization to advance development of the Dragon offshore gas field in Venezuela, a major breakthrough for the energy project that had stalled for years under U.S. sanctions.
Trinidad’s Attorney General John Jeremie announced that the authorization, issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, will allow Shell and Trinidad to engage with Venezuela’s state-owned company PDVSA on the cross-border project through April 2026. The Dragon field, located near the maritime boundary between Trinidad and Venezuela, is seen as critical to ensuring the Caribbean nation’s long-term energy security.
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“This is a structured license in three stages,” Jeremie said at a press conference. “The first stage allows negotiations to move forward with Venezuela and PDVSA, but it also requires the inclusion of U.S. companies in the development. You have to hit commercial targets for U.S. firms. We don’t think those are difficult or unreasonable.”
The U.S. authorization comes after years of uncertainty and shifting policy toward Venezuela, which has been under U.S. energy sanctions since 2019. Previous licenses for the Dragon project, initially granted under the Biden administration, were revoked by the Trump administration in April, halting progress for Shell, Trinidad’s National Gas Company (NGC), and BP, which had been working on a separate gas development nearby.
Shell recently completed a marine survey at the Dragon site before the previous license expired, a move expected to aid in determining pipeline routes and drilling locations once full operations resume.
While Jeremie did not disclose financial terms, he noted that no direct cash payments to the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro would be permitted under the new terms — consistent with previous U.S. restrictions.
In late September, the U.S. State Department reaffirmed its support for Trinidad’s Dragon gas proposal, emphasizing that the arrangement would not provide a “significant benefit” to Maduro’s administration.
With proven reserves of about 4.2 trillion cubic feet, the Dragon field is one of Venezuela’s largest natural gas deposits and a potential economic lifeline for Trinidad, which faces dwindling domestic gas output. The project could help supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and petrochemical industries that underpin much of the nation’s export revenue.
BP declined to comment on the development, while Shell referred inquiries to the Trinidadian government, noting that the country remains the official license holder for the Dragon project.
If successfully executed, the deal could mark a new chapter in Caribbean energy cooperation—balancing the region’s energy needs with Washington’s complex geopolitical approach toward Caracas.
