THE Prime Minister says the necessary work to access natural gas from Venezuela's Dragon gas field is being actively pursued at this time.
He made this statement in the House of Representatives on April 19, in response to a question from Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee.
Dr Rowley said this Government received a 30-year exploration and production licence from the Venezuelan government on December 21, 2023 for the Dragon gas field, and the work to develop the field is continuing.
"The National Gas Company (NGC) and Shell have been looking at the elements necessary to get the project done."
Rowley told MPs the gestation periods for projects of this period are lengthy and involve different components.
These include getting vessels to survey the reserves in the Dragon field and doing the designs for any pipeline infrastructure needed to extrace the natural gas that is there.
Rowley said these were necessary precursors for the successful undertaking of the relevant physical activity to come.
Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George told Lee a subsequent question about the licence awarded to Government for the Dragon field was inadmissible, given his original question, the answer Rowley gave to that question and the House's standing orders.
On April 18, UNC activist Ravi Balgobin-Maharaj claimed a statement made on the same day by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which falls under the US Treasury, meant the Dragon deal was in jeopardy
In a statement, Balgobin-Maharaj said, "As was expected, the US is making good on their promise to not extend the life of OFAC General License 44 when it expires on April 18, 2024. As such, it was just announced by OFAC that all entities operating under General License 44 will be given until May 31, 2024, to wind down all oil and gas operations in Venezuela."
But in a subsequent statement, the Energy Ministry said Balgobin-Maharaj's assessment of the development was wrong.
"This amendment to the OFAC General Licence 44 does not affect the specific amended OFAC licence that was issued to the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on October 17, 2023, which authorised the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd (NGC), Shell PLC and their affiliates to conduct business with the Government of Venezuela and Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) with respect to the Dragon Gas Field in Venezuela."
The ministry said, "The specific amended OFAC Licence issued to Trinidad and Tobago on October 17, 2023 is valid until October 31, 2025 and permits Shell, NGC and contractors to continue the works being undertaken to explore, produce and export natural gas from the Venezuelan Dragon Gas Field."
TT and Venezuela signed the US$1 billion deal in August 2018. Those involved included energy giant Shell, Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA, and the NGC.
The Dragon deal will see TT developing the field, which it is estimated will produce approximately 150 million standard cubic feet of gas a day. The gas will be imported through a
