By: Staff Writer
September 3, 2024
Seismic work at offshore gas fields shared by Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago is expected to start in the coming days, the Caribbean country’s energy minister Stuart Young said on Friday on social media.
Venezuela in July issued a 20-year license allowing the development of its side of the reservoir, the Cocuina field. The U.S. earlier this year also authorized the project, to be developed by Britain’s BP and Trinidad’s National Gas Company.
The BP deal, was met with much controversy considering the frayed relationship Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has with Washington.
Trinidad was seen as choosing sides with the Maduro regime and observers thought Trinidad was jeapordizing their relationship with the Biden administration.
But, now with Maduro regaining power after a disputed election, the project is getting the go-ahead, despite the obvious difficulties in dealing with the Maduro administration.
The Cocuina and Manakin fields, whose Venezuelan portion belongs to the idled offshore gas project Plataforma Deltana, has 1 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves.
The vessel PXGEO2 and two supporting ships are scheduled to conduct a 3D seismic survey next month at a portion of the Manakin field, Young said on X, quoting a marine advisory notice from BP.
Venezuela, with its largely untapped gas reserves, has been inviting foreign companies to invest in offshore gas projects.
Despite the slow progress due to US sanctions and the need for substantial investment, the Dragon gas field project, operated by Shell and NGC, is moving forward with plans to start production by late 2025.
The Dragon field, located in Venezuela waters near the maritime border with Trinidad and Tobago, could hold up to 4.2tcf of gas, potentially benefitting Trinidad’s liquified natural gas and petrochemical sectors.
Earlier last month, reports indicated that India’s Reliance Industries is looking to restart crude oil trade with Venezuela through a crude-for-naphtha swap arrangement.
Reliance will use naphtha supplies to partially pay for crude oil purchases, with the remaining amount settled in dollars.